An Experiment with Humanity
by MorganRay
Summary: Is Shade the only one fighting the Overlords? Could a human have survied to do this? Deyana, a young supergenius, has a drastical approach on how to turn the tides with the Overlords with her team of misfits. update: July 2006
1. Deyana

An Experiment with Humanity  
  
Chapter 1: Deyana  
I swished the jar of blue liquid in my hand, bored from the wait, contemplating my life in a day. I hadn't time to stop and contemplate before, but now, I had the chance, after ten years, to use hide sight. I was typically used to using foresight, which is how I had lived to be twenty-two. Hell, that was an accomplishment.  
The underwater lab in the harbor had been what saved us. It was a small dome down in the harbor, which had recently been constructed before the Change. There were tunnels being built to lead into it, but they hadn't been completed, and I made sure they stayed that way. No one came in except through the little submarine type vehicles that we kept here, and I knew of nothing that could swim down to us, and fate had kept us safe.  
It was ten years and roughly a week ago that the Change had taken place. I had finished my first four years of college when I was twelve. I had been on all the talk shows and met Opera, but medical school had lay ahead. I had never gotten my M.D., but in a ways, I had become a doctor and possibly, the most intelligent human ever.  
Well, Julio, May Shi, Benjamin, and myself had been invited down to this lab, which was relatively new, since we were the youngest people in the nation to go to college. I was twelve and so was Julio and May Shi, but they weren't graduated yet, which made me special. Benjamin was fourteen, and working on graduating with May Shi and Julio. We spent one night down here, and the next morning, everything changed.  
I realized what had happened first. My changed ability had probably started to work. None of us had extreme changes, and I never even found out what Benjamin's was. The adults had all disappeared. Everyone older than fourteen was gone and I realized it before all of them. It wasn't my natural intelligence, but a change intelligence that gave me exceptional comprehension, and made me the mental superior to anyone who had ever lived.  
"Ha," I laughed, placing the jar of liquid down. I studied the eyeball of the tracker I had dissected only day earlier, when my Change talent added me in finding the ultimate goal.  
The first year had been tough, and after that, there had been fifteen. We collected others with useful change talents and some recognized me from TV. We took them down here and began to cope. Survival was an essential, and so, to survive, we learned and gathered. We gathered everything we could in the first year from the University and other main buildings, but nothing else could be easily taken after the Overlords took supreme power. Except for us four, the children that helped us in the first year were inconstant, so a group didn't form until the second year.  
I sighed quietly. The information had all been worthwhile, and the walls and cupboards filled with pickled specimen parts and volumes of research stacked in my room were and on computer file hadn't come close to making condolence for the twelve we had lost. The first three we hadn't been able to bring back to even keep the bodies. It was then that I initiated steroids to all the males, and a minimal amount to the females. The vitamin intake became consistent, but nine more had been lost, but they're sacrifice wasn't put to waste.  
Dissection was the only way to learn the parts of the creatures. I saved every organ, especially the brains, for study. I had saved every unharmed part of my nine human companions, too, along with their blood, which was used time to time when Julio or Dan, who we picked up, lost sufficient amounts of blood.  
How? It was the question to which I needed the answer, and had spent ten years searching desperately for. Today, everything could be repaid if my theory proved true. All the dissection would be worth it if I could solve the mystery of how the overlords got the human minds to slave for them. I ran a toothpick through the silver dust on my desk. This could be the answer.  
"Deyana!" Julio shouted. The Indian man came in, arm bleeding badly. I helped him to the table I used for humans, and fixed up the wound quickly.  
"I hope you're happy," Dan muttered. He was seventeen, the youngest of the group we had collected, by far, but his change talent had made him strong and tall, but I didn't look at Dan. I focused on the unconscious winger Dan held in his arms. "Damn, Deyana, that was hard! We had to deal with nine to get one!"  
I didn't listen to Dan complain, snapping at him to help Julio, as I laid the winger on the main dissection table. I injected it with sedatives first before strapping it securely to the table. "Oh, this is it." I pulled out my operating tools, staring at my papers of autonomy to find the part of the brain I was looking for. 


	2. Deyana's Revelation

Chapter Two: Deyana's Revelation  
I cut the scalp with precise motions, diverting and soaking up the blue liquid, carefully maneuvering my way deep through the added brain organ tissue that was added to the human brain to help work the new body, but what I searched for lay underneath it. I gently manipulated my way to the base of the cranium, digging out the small, silver ball from its lodgings. After removing it, I spent the majority of the surgery, that must have lasted hours, repairing the organ tissues, and then, repairing the scalp and stitching up the skin. I pumped more the blue liquid into the winger's system, knowing it would still be roughly a day before any results came of my surgery.  
"So, what's the point?" Dan asked sarcastically. He growled in disgust at the winger I had been operating on.  
"The manipulation of the human mind," I said simply.  
"Why do you care? Why can't we just take our technology and go and destroy them?" Dan was often brash.  
"We can't because we don't have the numbers, and doing so wouldn't be correct justice," I concluded that long ago. "Fight fire with fire." Dan shrugged, during away, not understanding. Julio knew what I spoke of, but neither of us would know if it would ever truly work. There had been no way to tell if extensive damage had been done to the brain itself, but experimenting was the best way to find out.  
"Wait a day," I whispered to no one. 


	3. An Alternative Solution

Chapter Three: The Alternative Solution  
"Deyana," Julio's Indian accent called me out of my room. I peered up into the small mirror that sat on my nightstand, half buried by books. I had never been extremely attractive, and I was even less so now with my ear-length, brown hair, all kinky because I never did anything with it. My skin had cleared with age, but worry lines had indented themselves, making me look roughly thirty. Oh, but my eyes were blue and still sharp.  
"So, how are you going to test this?" Julio stopped me barely a couple yards out of my room. "What makes you so sure this time? I thought all that ball did was keep the electrical currents between the original brain and the transplanted organic parts smooth?"  
"Yes, I causes them to function as a whole, but we've discussed a thousand times how human memory and emotions get in the way of that, and to keep functioning as a whole, the human memory would need to be manipulated."  
"It does that? You said it was built into the brain additions or with some kind of chemical?" I smiled simply at Julio.  
"I thought so, until last time. I took the ball out, and I noticed there was a change in the brain wave patterns. It makes sense, and I'd like to test my theory."  
"How?" Julio asked again, but I gently moved past him. I didn't know how, but admitting that would be a terrible blow to my pride.  
Dan was no where to be seen, which was probably for the better, since he hated all my dissections, and this idea hadn't pleased him too much, although he hardly knew what my goals were. 'Destroy the source' was all Dan talked about, but I had no idea where the source was located, and besides, that would take numbers, and the indirect route was the best way to go.  
I stared down at the winger, lying on the table, and I poked it with blunt metal. The shining, yellow eyes that were a mix of a cat and bat's stared up at me, but other than that, no motion came from the winger. The eyes twitched every which way, taking in every part of this strange surrounding. I looked up at Julio, who was concentrating, using his change ability to sense emotions, although I forbid him to use his talent to sense mine, and he obliged. Julio's brow wrinkled while his eyes widened, first from the effort, and then, from shock. "Two tests right there," I muttered under my breath, watching the winger's eyes follow me across the room as I came into a lighted area, fully in its view.  
"Emotions," Julio mouthed wordlessly as I rolled my eyes. Julio was slow on the uptake today.  
"Morning," I checked my watch to see it read eight fifteen, and a slightly uncomfortable feeling overcame me as I said, "Hello, my name is Deyana Orbligano, and I'd like to have a sort of one sided chat, since your mouth can't make any intelligent sounds. You may, however, respond with a nod of your head for yes, and a shake of your head for no, if you would like impute or to answer a question. Understand?"  
The winger gave a nod. Comprehension, a trait of the human brain, worked well enough so far. I had never seen creatures comprehend speech before, or show nonassertive awareness to their environments, and I dissected a couple of them live before.  
"You're in a very secret, and also very remote, laboratory," the winger nodded for understanding. "It has been ten years since the change occurred, and you were.older than ten then?" I made an age guess. The winger shook its head. "Older than five?" The winger nodded. "Older than seven?" The winger nodded. "Eight?" The winger shook its head. "Okay, you were nine, so it's been five years since your sad birthday." The winger nodded for understanding, and I paced across the room. I picked up a piece of paper and took notes. "You were a female?" The winger nodded as I scratched 'female' on the piece of paper, turning back to the winger. "Do you member any part after your sad birthday?" The winger shook her head. I scribbled down 'Memory blank during time as creature with silver ball.'  
"As I was saying, I'm Deyana, and I was twelve when the change happened, but I was a genius to begin with, and my change talent enhanced that, and to make it short and brief, I've spent the past ten years trying to figure out how the overlords manipulate the human brain while in the creature bodies and how to reverse the process." I popped out the silver ball from a gel casing, and showed it to the winger. "This was in your head, erasing and manipulating your brain by shutting out your human memories and consciousness."  
The winger's head smacked against the table as she jerked it back from the silver sphere. I dropped the sphere back into the casing, putting it away, while scribbling, 'Definite reaction to silver sphere.' "My comrade, Dan, would like to destroy the source of the overlord's power, but since we haven't the faintest idea what that is, I'm going to get a little troupe of my own together, so when the discovery comes, there'll be a group to fight the overlords. The odds are ridiculously terrible with free humans right now." I paced back and forth a little in front or the winger, staring at the golden eyes and occasionally to the jars all securely strapped on shelves.  
"See, to learn more about the overlords, I'm going to need some help," I looked directly at the winger. "I need another winger to figure out something, and I'd like you to go with Dan and Julio to get one for me." The winger nodded, and I felt the slight smile creep over my face. This winger wasn't going to be the answer to the manipulation of the human mind, though. I need to learn a little more about vocal abilities and ideas of how to humanize the winger's sounds floated to my brain. The only thing my human-minded winger needed was a voice. I knew I was smiling. 


	4. Theresa

Chapter Four: Theresa  
I hadn't seen anyone that old since I was nine, but here she was, pacing back and forth, a twenty-two year old woman! At first I thought it was my sad birthday, but then, something wasn't right, and she said I already had my sad birthday! I scratched my memory for putting on the white night gown while she spoke, but I could only remember about a week before my sad birthday, a week of misery. What had I become? Thoughts that would nauseate and overwhelm me I pushed back, listening to everything this woman said.  
"See, to learn more about the overlords, I'm going to need some help. I need another winger to figure out something, and I'd like you to go with Dan and Julio to get one for me." Another.oh, yes, the creature test had said I would 'be used in the assembly and operation of' a winger, or something along those lines. I nodded to the woman, Deyana, who smiled contently at my answer.  
"I hope you like that idea after last time," an Indian man, who looked about as old as the Deyana woman, came from the dark corner, frowning. This man was huge, about a foot taller than Deyana. "Couldn't you fix the vocal cords without another winger?"  
"No," the woman sighed. "I need a winger, and I can't stress that enough, and plus, this time, she's helping you and Dan, so it'll be more of an even venture."  
"Even," the Indian man snorted. The large man shrugged, turning casually away from Deyana. "Now?"  
"Yes, do it now," the woman smiled and watched him leave the room. She walked over to me. "That's Julio. He and I were in college at twelve years old, although I was one year ahead of him." My eyes widened because I would only be in sixth and staring seventh grade when I was twelve. This woman must really know what she was doing, but according to her, she had already removed that horrid silver ball that had controlled my mind.  
I stared at her calm, thoughtful face. I wanted to say thank you so badly. But no words would exit my mouth, and I had to be satisfied with a nod of my head. Deyana walked around behind me where I couldn't see her, but I felt the restraints on my body begin to loosen. "Don't listen to Dan. He'll probably say a bunch of crap. Don't move after I remove the restraints because I'm taking you to the vehicle."  
I lay motionless as my slanted table, which might have looked like an operating table, moved into a horizontal position. I stared up at Deyana's face as she moved me out of the room. I stared around at the strange, narrow, hallways, wondering all the while where I was until I saw the ocean in the little dome above my head.  
An undersea laboratory! Wow, I would have never, ever suspected this, but it's probably why she was twenty-two. The vehicle was a mini-sub and she hauled me off the table, into the sub. I lay on my stomach, realizing my legs were pretty pathetic, and for the first time, I took a look at my massive, black wings. My mind swam thoughts of disgust at being a creature creeping into my thoughts.but if I were really a creature, I couldn't think these thoughts. Right?  
"Dey.ANA!" A guy, younger than Deyana and bigger than either of them, caught sight of me. "Okay, another winger, sure, but this is INSANE!"  
"DAN!" The woman became angry. "This is MY plan, and unless you can EXICUTE, not DEVISE, a better one, you will LISTEN TO ME." Deyana silenced the boy, who looked with utter disgust at me. It really shouldn't surprise me because I had looked at the creatures in the dormitories with utter loathing. Still, I felt dirty.  
"She is going with you two, and I will have another winger," Deyana silenced both larger men, and they looked at me.  
"Dan, sub," Julio stated sharply. "I need to grab our supplies." So this was Dan, the one Deyana had warned me about. He stared at me, and back at Deyana with her hands planted firmly on her hips. He scowled as he went out of sight, possibly to run the sub. "Let's go." Julio returned with a large piece of meat. I felt my mouth water, and I couldn't stop staring at the luscious.WHAT THE HELL? What was I thinking? I was visualizing that raw meal in the same category as chocolate! I suppressed sick urges in my mind, making me want to vomit at the thoughts. I was Teresa, not some mindless creature.  
"I want four living bodies in that sub," Deyana snapped at Julio as he began to close the door. Dan mumbled something from behind me. I felt movement, but I couldn't see where we were heading. I lay there and watched the locked door, wondering all the while where I was heading.  
"Let's just screw her," Dan muttered from behind me. "I mean, come one, this is stupid! If she'd focus on something other than trying to humanize dumb creatures," the dirty feelings flooded me, "we could be back to normal."  
"No," Julio stated sharply. "If this isn't easy, doing things your way would be very difficult, and we'd probably suffer greater lose."  
"Let's dump that thing," I strained to see their faces. God, where they really going to kill me? Well, it wouldn't be a total surprise since my human body died years ago.  
"No," Julio said again. "Let's not do that because we're going to need help, and I was there for the little tests Deyana did."  
"Dude, you're fooling yourself to think that thing has a human mind!" I felt sick to my stomach. I suddenly felt a jolt, and the conversation ended with Julio coming over to the door by my face and opening it to reveal a sewer tunnel. Dan walked out first carrying steak, knives, a box, ropes, and chains. Julio followed with me in his arms since I guess my walking abilities weren't too great. Julio stopped not too far into the sewer system and put me down. Was he going to leave me? No, he picked me up again, placing me over his shoulders, and began climbing a ladder.  
The light was bright compared to the dark sewers, and I suddenly realized I could see very far in every direction, but I could see little birds and a couple of wingers soaring up in the clouds. Julio took me into a clump of bushes and knelt down as Dan set the trap. The raw meat was making me hungry, and if I could speak, I probably would have asked them if I could eat it.  
But the wingers they wanted arrived just as Dan slid himself down beside Julio. "What does that do?" He stared at me, and Julio began to think.  
"Fly," Julio replied calmly. "When the first one touches the meat, fly out and give the rest of them a beating." I stared over at Julio, swallowing a lump in my throat. How would they tell me apart from the other wingers? I shook my head. Julio raised an eyebrow. I shook me head constantly. No, I wouldn't do this. If they didn't take me back.the thought scared me too much.  
Dan jerked the rope, and I turned to see that the box had fallen atop of the first winger to touch the meat. He began to pull the box and the winger over to the bushes. I could see the other eight circling above us, hovering over the box, looking for the meat. Julio drug the box into the bushes, lifted up the edge, and tried to administer tranquilizer to the infuriated winger.  
It lashed out at him, and Dan drew his knife. I snapped at the winger in the box as Julio administered the tranquilizer. The winger went silent as Julio cradled his lower arm. "Not as bad as last time," Julio muttered as he squinted upwards. "Go! I think they see us." Julio draped me over his shoulders and we rushed to the sewers. Two wingers had gone into a dive. They were coming towards us! A horrible sound that was meant to be a scream exploded from my mouth. I felt Julio shudder as he placed the lid over the sewer entrance.  
The two of them were running full out to the sub threw the unconscious winger in beside me before Julio shut the door. "Damn, never, ever again," Dan whispered. "This gets more insane each time she makes a request. That thing didn't help at all." His words only added to the feelings of worthlessness that filled me. I wanted every part of me to be dead. 


	5. A Voice for Theresa

Chapter Five: A Voice for Teresa  
"Finally," Deyana's voice exclaimed as Julio brought me into the room where I woke up. It was something out of a mad scientist dream, complete with pickled everything and tools for possibly any kind of surgery. Deyana stitched up Julio's arm, giving him more blood. "Be careful. I'll have to do another blood drive if you keep this up."  
"Yeah," Julio sat up, staring at the unconscious winger lying on the table. Deyana promptly strapped me to a table, administering a sedative to my neck.  
  
"Awake I see," Deyana stared down at me, clipboard in hand. A small smile grazed her tired features. "What's your name?"  
"Th-ear-ay-sa" I bolted on the table. I had a voice! It sounded human, only some of the syllables didn't come out right. Deyana grinned.  
"You'll have to work your mouth to adjust to some of the syllables, but you can speak, which is more than could be done before. I did a voice box transplant. It was rarely done before the change, but it was done, and I followed roughly the same procedure."  
I almost smiled, but what did a winger smile look like? I guess if I did it the human way I would appear to be bearing my teeth, so I stopped. Deyana undid my restraints, taking me out of the operating room, down the narrow hallways, until she came to a door. She slid the heavy door open, revealing a little room, stuffed with books and a single bed. A metal rail fastened to the wall, and suspended above the bed, where a sleeping bag hung.  
But that wasn't the amazing part. A little porthole window looked out of the room into dark water, small slits of light coming down through. I raised my head, jumping as a large fish pashed the porthole. Deyana laughed. "This is your room. The bar is where you'll sleep, since wingers don't naturally sleep horizontal, and the sleeping bag will do as a blanket."  
"Th-ay-nk yh-oo" my speech hadn't improved since I last spoke. Deyana placed me on the bed and nodded. She exited the room, leaving me alone to stare at the ocean. I moved my wings, realizing I needed to know how to get up to the bar. I thought about it, and BAM, in an instant, I found myself maneuvering myself up and inside the sleeping bag. The action seemed as natural as walking.  
I closed my eyes, a tired feeling creeping into my brain, trying to suppress all the questions and sick thoughts that echoed in my brain. Why had my memories been revived? Deyana generally seemed nice, but was I just another experiment? Did she feel the same as Julio and Dan?  
God, I couldn't think these thoughts. They ate my brain, and I refused them, pushing myself towards sleep, but I couldn't. My mind raced, wanting to think.  
I settled on comforting memories of vacations with my parents at the beach. My first day of school and the field trips to the zoo where Beth and I got lost. Mary's birthday sleepover party had been the last great time before the Change. I bought her this set of finger nail polish, some candy, and a Beanie Baby. Beth's baton and twirling ribbons had been her favorite gifts, but the presents took the background when we swam in her in- ground pool, and Beth splashed me making . . . Author Note: Thanks for the reviews. Shade's Children isn't an incredibly popular book, but it made me think. If there is ANYWHERE you'd like to see this story go, please tell me. I'm open to pretty much anything in this story, unlike my others, which I pretty much know all of what I want to happen. 


	6. Quiet

Chapter Six: Quiet  
I popped a little painkiller into my system as I swallowed seven pills with various vitamins and steroids. My lower arm's recent stitching job became another tally on my list of growing bodily injuries. With so many scars and stitches, I might have been one of Deyana's experiments. I grimaced because I just might be. She took no shame in bottling up parts from former team members.  
Well, there wasn't much of a team to begin with, and I let these thoughts go with a sigh. If I wound up in jars, so be it. I ran out of reasons to live long ago when there was no more school, family, or calm future with the prospect of marriage and a family of my own. Now, I just lived to live.  
I smirked at my strangely, unkempt hair that hung in dark clumps to my shoulders. No, I wasn't handsome. Might I have been? My large arms and steroid enhanced body left some stretch marks, adding towards the battle scars that covered my body. Deyana stitched me up after I took Dan's brunt at every mission.  
I stared at the ceiling, which I painted myself in an everlasting garden, the type that I'd never see again. My parents owned a garden, but this one came from my imagination, flowing from artistic places hidden deep under my survival mode. Late at night, and when Deyana calmed down enough to spend a while in the lab, which wasn't often, I painted another part of my garden. It was flowing onto the walls, and I picked up my brush, beginning to work on a small grapevine around the door.  
The little round purple grapes would taste good, and I longed for grapes and cherries, my favorite fruits. The therapy soothed my brain, causing the violent thoughts to end for an hour or so.  
Deyana might like to see my garden, but no, she'd never have time. She ran the show, and her pride and joy lay in the lab and in storage room down the hall in the form of a winger. That was Deyana's therapy. Saving mind's made her happy, making her whole.  
Dan didn't strike me as loving plants. He would be reading, probably, or working out, which he didn't need to do, but liked to anyway. Most liking, he'd be playing one of his old, silly video games, which he loved because he lost himself in the animated action. It offered him escape, which he wanted. He wanted his old life back, and enjoyed his favorite form of entertainment from then.  
What did I want? Did I want my old life? Did I want a grand, bold future?  
No, I wanted neither. I wanted my peace, a small piece of something to just call my own. A place where I could stay, enjoying life and without having to fix my body every week with stitches, blood transfusions, and steroids.  
This room was mine. I owned this painting, if it were the only thing I'd ever own again, it would be mine. Maybe this is why I didn't want to show it off. We never let each other into each other's rooms, but I had been in Dan's and Deyana's a couple times. They never came in here.  
It wasn't just Deyana, Dan, and me, though. Deyana inserted a new addition to our group. Did I like the winger?  
Another unanswered question because I had never spoken to her, although I would be able to now. Deyana's idea struck all sorts of interesting possibilities. Could I get over the idea of talking to a winger like a human? I wasn't sure, but I might try when time permitted. Deyana might push it on me, though, because of Dan's unwillingness.  
"The human mind," I sighed, beginning to paint a little leaf. Humanity, the backbone of this world, even since the overlords took over. They needed our minds. I frowned, refilling my paints.  
Would they get my mind? Deyana's? Dan's? They got everyone else's. I frowned deeper, putting my paints away. Once again, peace had left.  
  
I usually don't ask this, but reviews, please. I'd like to know if there's anything you'd want to see in this story, anything I'm doing wrong, and some things you like or want to see stay the same. Thanks, MorganRay. 


	7. Dan

Chapter Seven: Dan  
"Damn! I lost again!" I flung the game control down. I flicked off the television set that didn't get any channels, since there wasn't any to broadcast, but only worked with the game console I hooked up to it. I stood up, leaving my room.  
Who was I looking for, anyway? That crazy genius Deyana? No, I couldn't stand that girl and her wacky ideas. Quiet, I'm-a-slave-to- Deyana, Julio, with his weird little emotional detector? No, he was way to boring. That ugly, god-forsaken winger? Maybe I'd kill the thing.  
I slid down the hallway toward the room where Deyana put the monster. I couldn't count how many times wingers had attacked me. Brat was taken by one of those filthy beasts. This one, so called 'human mind' or not, needed to die.  
"Evening," Julio stepped out of his room, blocking my path.  
"Move it," the large man stepped in front of me. He raised an eyebrow.  
"You're too angry, Dan. Calm down or else I guarantee you..."  
"What? You'll sic Deyana the rabid genius on me? What, will she pickle me, Julio?" I tried to push past him, but his eyes were nothing to mess with.  
"Don't be stupid," Julio turned me around. "Let's go see what's up."  
"If I have to go catch anything, I will kill her," I rolled my eyes. I was sick of catching monsters to aid Deyana in her little experiment. My friends were dead because of those stupid missions. They sat in her lab, pickled up in pieces.  
"Well, she's not here, darn, she's actually human enough to sleep," I strode into the lab. It made me very uncomfortable. It felt right out of Frankenstein, and that scared me. Soon, she'd find out how to resurrect the dead. Maybe, that'd be good, because I'd get my friends back.  
In the middle, the winger, that was in the process of being dismembered and pickled, was on ice, staying fresh, blood freshly pumped from the system. I held my stomach. I saw this scene a lot, but it still made me sick. "You know, that other monster should be down here."  
"Don't touch anything but you're pills," Julio added. I rolled me eyes again. I tapped the body of the limp winger, making sure Julio could see me. It was his turn to roll eyes. "Dan, get over it. You're juvenile. I don't know how you have time."  
"I'm just sarcastic and not wrapped up in this creature crap," I eyed Julio, staring at the walls, opening cupboards. "Looking at all our pickled buddies? Yeah, I like how she keeps them here, reminding us of how much we've lost. What do you think about her using your buddy Shi Ann's vocal cord?"  
"Shut up, Dan," Julio shut the cupboard with a slight bang. I grinned. "She was the only one you really talked to. Two quiet geniuses stuck in a hell on earth, separated when a myrmidon hacked her down..."  
A slap stung my cheek. Julio had me pinned against the wall, squeezing air out of my lungs. I gagged, staring into his angry eyes. "Last time, shut up. We don't talk about these things, remember?" I flopped to the ground, gasping breath. I grinned a little. Well, Julio, you don't like Diana that much.  
  
Thanks for the good reviews. Being positive helps, but being critical is good, too. Anyway, this story kind of went into postponement for a while because I'm working on a whole slew of Ronin Warrior stories because it's my favorite anime and a mythology story on Fiction Press. Thanks for reading and reviewing, MorganRay. 


	8. Lose

Chapter Eight: Lose  
(Deyana)  
Popping out another book, I thumbed through pages of useless garb, stuff I already knew. I threw the book down. I pulled up the little mattress, reaching under it to grab the only book I never read. The thick, leather binding hid pages, not quite yellow, but definitely aging. I stared at the front page of the book, where I'd written "Deyana's Team." I stared at the photograph I took a year after the change, when there were fifteen. Slightly smiling faces stared back, yet the picture had a haunted quality about it.  
I traced my finger over my own youthful face. I had been beautiful and full of hope to end the change, return things to normal. If things were normal, would I like them again? Had I slipped down a slope since this picture?  
I stared at Julio's quiet face, barely smiling despite the huge party we had the night before. We survived, and that was a reason to celebrate in itself. Dan looked out a huge grin spread across his young eight-year- old features. Shi Ann stood next to Julio and me, quietly smiling, staring at Julio when the camera flashed. Oh, she did love him.  
I met eyes with the simple picture of Brat, who had been eight, the same age as Dan. Brat was the first one to go, at the hands of a winger. I frowned, thinking quietly of Theresa. What would her photo album look like?  
Ten other various faces, all passed away, stared up at me. I flipped to the second page, meeting a picture of Shi Ann. The film that we raided partly was used for this, to make this book. I just took the pictures, not telling anyone what they were for. I flipped towards the back, where my favorite picture lay.  
The picture, all in all, turned out badly, but it didn't matter. A small picture of the last time I ever felt peace struck a blow to my heart. Julio, Shi Ann, Benjamin, and I sat placidly along a bench, waiting to get on the sub to take us down here. Ten years ago, this wasn't my home, but a grand adventure and learning experience to be tackled like everything else.  
I had been a naïve child. (Theresa)  
"Awff," I jumped again at the weird sound I made. I looked up, realizing somehow, I'd fallen out of my little sleeping bag on a bar. I blinked, staring out at the ocean. No fish swam by the window, and I wanted to walk around, see where I was.  
No, that was no use. I couldn't walk, with legs as short as my forearms used to be. I lay on the bed, rumpled up a little with my one wing bend awkwardly, and I hated the horizontal position.  
Funny, I always felt safe, sleeping in a bed, peacefully snuggled under covers. Now, I loathed laying here like this, and thought about going up towards the bar again. No, laying here in the sheets brought back memories of sharing a bunk with Nadine. The dormitories were too cheap to let us have our own bed, so we shared one.  
Nadine, my last real friend, had escaped days before her sad birthday. How she did it, I still didn't know. She blabbered about reading the creature's minds, but she and I were both too afraid to remove the tracer. I still wanted to know how she did it...but did it matter now? Nadine couldn't save me from what I was. I couldn't even freaking save myself!  
I howled, feeling tears come behind my eyes. I shivered at the sound. The door creaked open, and a tired face of Deyana looked in on me. She gazed off, as she saw me on the bed. I swallowed, but her eyes closed, and a small smile came over her face. The woman walked into the room, closing the door.  
"I see you fell down," her voice was quiet. She clutched a little, worn, brown book by her left side. "By all reason, you shouldn't have fallen down from that little bar. A winger should be able to sleep hanging from a skyscraper in a wind storm and not fall down."  
Yeah, the winger side of me knew this. The part of my brain that knew how to get up towards the bar and hang there knew I should still be up there, but I still fell off.  
"Proving," Deyana demanded my attention again, "that you're not a winger." She rubbed the book, a small smile coming over her face. The pain she felt, she didn't speak of, but I saw it, if only for a moment. Somehow, she'd seen my pain, too. 


	9. Supplies

Chapter Nine: Supplies  
(Deyana)  
I moved my hand over the photo album once more, and walked back towards my room. I heard Theresa whimper, but I headed out, securing my treasure under the mattress. I walked back to her room, a small smile coming across my face at the whimpering that she was doing. Could that be crying?  
"Thak mhee wiff u," she muttered. I grinned, nodding. I didn't know if I was strong enough, but I heaved the winger up in my arms, like a groom would do a bride. I snorted at this thought, walking her towards the lab. Julio and Dan should be rested, because I'd developed a to-do list.  
"Hello," I walked into the lab, looking around, seeing Julio lying against the far wall, sleeping. Dan fiddled with something in the far corner, in the shadowy part of the room. "It's shopping time."  
"Damn it, Deyana, I don't want to go right now. Send Julio and your beast to the grocery store," Dan spat. I snarled, laying Theresa down on a table before heading over to the reluctant men.  
"Boys, we do this a ton, and there was only one mishap," I sighed. "That was nine years ago. You go to the same places, get the same things, and bring them back here. Easy," Julio looked up at me, yawning.  
"List," he held out his hand. I walked back over to where I'd laid Theresa, picking up the newest list out of my supply folder.  
"What?" Theresa looked at what I held.  
"It's a supply list, and Julio and Dan go gather food and such that we run out of," I handed the list to Julio. He read it over. A small frown appeared on his face.  
"You changed it a little," Julio looked up at me.  
"We need more meat," I stated blatantly. "This isn't a dangerous area, and it's not far from where you two go anyway."  
"Okay," Julio handed the list to Dan. Dan snorted when he read it.  
"Yeah, two blocks away, Deyana, and if there's as much meat there as this list tells us to get, I bet there'll be ferrets," Dan glared at me.  
"No, Shi Ann and I scouted that area a couple years ago. We took most of the raw meat out of the freezers, bringing them up to where we usually head. You'll just have to get it straight from down there, since the freezer we stocked is running low," I stared at both of them.  
"Just us?" Dan looked over at Theresa, scowling. I nodded. He shrugged, nodding at me, content with my answer. "Okay, Julio, lets shop to we drop." (Julio)  
"Ready for another adventurous shopping trip. You know, I never liked to shop, even when you didn't risk your life," Dan closed the door to our little sub. I piloted the little vehicle up to the sewer docking we used to go for food.  
"It's not another creature hunt," I was glad for this, pointing it out to Dan.  
"Yeah, but you know there'll probably be another one," Dan groaned. Yes, we'd have to do it sooner or later, but now, it was postponed, and my body wouldn't have to be stitched up again tonight.  
"Got the boxes? The bags? The ice?" I asked Dan. He nodded, tossing a couple sacks to me. "Let's move."  
We crawled through familiar sewer tunnels, long plugged up before the change. The sewer was rerouted, and these tunnels became obsolete when this part of the city went under construction. I jumped up, making my way to the catwalk that led out of the clogged sewers, into the used ones.  
We traveled the catwalks, quietly staying towards the less used tunnels until we came to the intersection where we hit a main tunnel. The only time we ever had a problem, it was here, when Myrmidons had snatched the second member of our team. I grimaced. Thank god I'd only seen Myrmidons twice.  
I climbed the little ladder that led upwards to the ally behind an abandoned grocery store. I popped the lid, walking out into a graying dawn. Dan followed, capping the lid, and he slid the key into the locked door. I took out another set of keys, starting on another set of locks. When they door opened, there were two more locks keeping our storage safe. I popped these two open with more keys, and we crept in, locking the two inner most doors behind us.  
"Get the freezers," I told Dan. "I'll get everything else."  
I threw Dan a flashlight, picking up one of my own. The old Costco looked mostly like it had been the world stopped the day of the change. We found it, and there was still electricity, but the lights burnt out long ago, but the freezers still worked, although fewer and fewer each time we showed up, but enough to keep produce, meat, and frozen foods stored. We hauled large numbers down during the first year, but then, it became dangerous, and the sub couldn't handle the weight.  
I grabbed soaps, blankets, a change of clothes, a couple cans, some razor blades, bottled water, and then sat the sacks down. I took the large box towards the back of the warehouse, where we kept some goods we imported here. The explosives were sealed up, kept safe, and Deyana hadn't asked for these in a long time because many of them weren't needed. I grabbed the ones she marked, mostly dynamite, guns, and bullets, wrapping them carefully, placing them into the boxes. Sealing the boxes, making sure the weapons were safe, I headed back towards the sacks.  
Dan waited, holding all the meat and produce. "Let's take this crap down to the sewers before we go get that extra meat," Dan opened the door, and I locked up after him. "We have another burnt out freezer, so I emptied that one."  
"Okay," we walked back to our clogged sewer, stashing everything there before heading back to get the meat. Going up one sewer lid down, we ended up right outside an old building. A butcher resided in the basement with a lot of still frozen meat. I'd been here a couple of times, but that was enough. We headed toward the door, opening it.  
"The basement," I whispered. I didn't like going under ground with the exception of the sewers, which I still wasn't a fan of. Ferrets lived in buildings like these, especially in basements like these. Dan drew a knife, and I readied two more knives. We crept down the steps. Dan showed the flashlight around the cobweb-covered room. Rats scurried around the floor, but thank god that's all that was down here.  
"Let's go," Dan hissed. I unlocked the freezer with more keys, popping out pounds of raw meat into the last sack I had. I threw the sack over my shoulder, readying both knives, climbing out of the basement.  
Going down the tunnel, I continued along the catwalk, ready to get back to the sub. We turned into the main tunnel, and a thunderous roar sounded through the tunnel, followed by high pitched clicking. I looked at Dan's wide eyes.  
The booming continued, and soon, splashing came right underneath us. A blond hair boy about thirteen ran at break neck speed. Behind him came a thirteen-year-old, but she wasn't as fast. Her long, brunette ponytail sprayed out behind her as she dashed through the sewers.  
"Up here!" I screamed. This was the first time I'd ever witnessed a tracking, but now, it was definitely time to run.  
  
This is where I'm going to start mentioning a couple people briefly mentioned in Shade's Children and expand upon them. Tell me what your thinking, thanks, MorganRay. 


	10. Dash

Chapter Ten: Dash  
(Julio)  
The brunette looked up at me, stunned, but began to climb the ladder at the next Myrmidon boom that sounded in the sewers. The blond turned back, following her. Dan began to run, taking the lead. Two trackers climbed up the ladder, but I threw my one knife down, killing the one and sending it toppling it into the other.  
"RUN!" I pushed the girl along, as she stared down at the two fallen trackers, catching her breath. The blond rushed after Dan, and my heart pounded as I took up the rear.  
"GO, DAN!" I screamed. I spun around, watching the last tracker scuttle up the ladder. Behind that tracker, a boom echoed as the first Myrmidon climbed up. "WE'RE BEING FOLLOWD! FASTER, DAMN IT!"  
I held my knife tightly, keeping it pointed down to keep from stabbing anyone, but I was ready to stab creatures. Heavy footsteps echoed along the catwalk, but by now, my heart pounded in a full out sprint. I felt my calves aching, but I spun into the less used tunnel, where the walks became narrow. One person could walk these now. I felt the walk shake underneath us. I looked back quickly to see a Myrmidon had pierced upwards into the catwalk, barely missing my ankle. Dear god, I was not dying or heading to the meat factory today. Ten years of this crap, and today was NOT the day.  
"DAN!" The line slowed, and I slammed into the girl. Dan threw the boy into our blocked sewers. I let the girl go in front of me, but rushed in before Dan, jumping down into the water, rushing break neck towards the weapons box. I picked up some dynamite, heading back towards the catwalk. I planted the dynamite at the entrance as Dan raced the girl and boy towards the sub. I could see the Myrmidon and tracker coming down the catwalk. I strung the dynamite, lighting the fuse. I turned and bolted over the catwalk, hitting the water, running towards the sub.  
An explosion erupted through the sewer as the tunnel collapsed where I placed the dynamite. Heat seared at my back, and I jumped into the sub as Dan slammed the door. I panted, wiping my brow, falling down along the side.  
"Too close," I coughed up saliva with a little blood.  
"Damn right," Dan steered the sub underwater, away from the danger. "We'll need another entrance, too."  
I laughed. "That's the least of our problems," I stared up at the Mexican girl, dark brown eyes matching thick, dark hair. The blond boy's bright blue eyes were slightly glazed, and he wiped the sweat off his brow, shock fading in his eyes a little.  
"Thanks," he muttered. "You just risked your freaking lives for us."  
"Yeah, don't mention it. At least I finally saved someone," Dan's face glowed with pride. "So, who did I have the pleasure of helping out?"  
"Stelo," the blond boy extended his hand to me. "You're possibly the oldest people I've ever seen. You're about...twenty?"  
"Twenty-two and seventeen, and you are?" I looked up at the boy.  
"Twelve, and Liza is thirteen," the Mexican girl nodded.  
"Liza?" I extended a hand towards the girl. She nodded, shaking my hand, meeting my eyes. "I'm Julio, and this is Dan."  
"Pleased," she said, her voice deep, for a woman, and strong. She stared over at Stelo. "Where are we going?"  
"An underwater lab. It's quite a secret," Dan docked the sub. The door lifted, and I grabbed half of our supplies, hauling them in. "Take some and come on in." Dan gestured the two into our lab. He seemed generally pleased to save them, face beaming with anticipation and happiness.  
"Deyana," I walked into the lab. Deyana stood over the winger. She stared up, tweezers holding a spleen. The body had been drained of the icor already. Theresa lay on the table, unable to see what Deyana was doing. "We've got guest."  
(Liza)  
I had never seen a place like this before. The small hallways scared me, reminding me of the little dormitory hallway, but it smelled different. It smelled clean, and there were no creatures around. Stelo walked ahead of me, and the old man, Dan, followed behind. I held a sack over my shoulder, walking down the metal hallways.  
"Deyana, this is Stelo and Liza. We saved them," the Indian man, Julio, spoke to someone. I ran into Stelo. He stopped walking, gasping at something in front of him. Light streamed over his shoulders, but I couldn't see what he was doing.  
"Oh my god," Stelo whispered. I pushed at him, but I couldn't move him. Then, I felt a shove from behind me. Dan pushed both of us through the doorway, and I stared around at a vision that plagued my nightmares.  
A woman, older than the others, stood over a table where a dead winger lay. It was in pieces, being dissected by the woman. The corners and parts of the room were dark, but the three bright lights revealed one wall clearly nearest to the table. Bottles of blue blood and canned body parts sat on shelves along with red, human blood. On a table, almost out of the light, lay a living winger!  
"Oh," I whispered, feeling my legs go weak. These were our saviors? Anything seemed better than the meat factory, until I saw this. Oh, this must be what it looks like, inside, where they make the creatures at the meat factory.  
"What is this place!" Stelo shouted. "Who the hell are you people!"  
"I'm Deyana," the woman answered, walking over to us. I looked back at the doorway, blocked by Dan.  
"Don't worry, she scares me, too," Dan snorted, smirking at Deyana. "This is Deyana's mad scientist lab, where she's trying to play savior of the world."  
"Savior of the world? Dan, unless you've got a plan, shut up," the woman glared at the huge man. "How did you escape?"  
"I smuggled a fork from lunch, and then, I used it, along with a lot of bent paper clips, to take out my tracer," Stelo replied. It felt terrible to swallow, sweat sliding down my back, causing a small tingle, and then a shiver. "Then, I took out Liza's."  
"I..." I swallowed. The blood, oh there was so much blood. The blankets didn't do anything to stop it. Stelo's wrist stained the floor, and mine was worse, causing blood to spray on the walls, cover the sheets, and blanket my memories.  
"Are you okay?" The Indian man stared into my eyes, a frown on his lips. My knees shook, but I nodded.  
"Sit down," Deyana pulled up a chair beside the living winger. My breath went short, and I stared at the chair.  
"She's afraid of your monster, Deyana," Dan's words were thick. I couldn't take my eyes off the chair.  
"Liza, Stelo, this is Theresa," Deyana pointed towards the winger. I still watched the chair, knees knocking. "I've found away to resurrect the human memories that the overlords suppressed when they transferred the human minds to creature bodies. Theresa is perfectly harmless, so sit down."  
"Don't have to. Personally, that thing could take out off my limbs, still," Dan drawled. An angry double image of Deyana walked toward me. One of my right, one on my left, she spoke harshly to Dan. I didn't hear the words. Dan yelled back, but I heard ten voices.  
"Are you okay?" A soft voice echoed in my ear. The room was gray, spinning in a kaleidoscope of gray circles, looping around one another, twisting into some strange nightmare.  
My legs gave, and I landed on ice. Oh, the ice, it was cold.  
  
Okay, this story has been a while, but I'd appreciate reviews. Sorry to keep you waiting, but this is very challenging to write, along with Interim Battles, both that are proving time consuming. Also, debates and finals fill my time. Anyway, thanks for reading/reviewing/always MorganRay. 


	11. Liza and Stelo

Chapter Eleven: Liza and Stelo  
(Liza)  
A murmur meant someone was talking, and my head wasn't on the freezing ice anymore, but I laid some where else. I opened my eyes, expecting to see the room with the winger, but I wasn't there.  
"Liza," Stelo's soft voice drifted to my ears. "You okay? You scared the shit out of me."  
"Where am I?" I rubbed my throbbing head. "I passed out, didn't I?"  
"The lady, Deyana, and Dan were arguing, and you just fell on the floor, and we couldn't wake you up, and I thought you were dead, but they said you weren't," Stelo frowned at me.  
"Stelo, what's going on?" I whispered as the room spun, and I lay back down. "Sorry, I'm still dizzy."  
"Hey, my mind is spinning, too. I didn't think there were any humans left after the change, and hell, here we are," Stelo sighed, and then, he moved over to my ear to whisper something. "Deyana scares me, Liza, and I think we should go look for that Shade Ella told us about when we escaped."  
"I don't know, Stelo," I frowned as he pulled away from my ear to look at me. "I think we're safe, and that's what I want."  
"I don't think we're safe," Stelo frowned to me.  
"Do they all scare you?" I mouthed to Stelo. He shrugged. "Who doesn't?"  
"Dan," Stelo replied. He leaned towards my ear. "I think he can help us, Liza. I don't think Deyana and him get along well, from what I've seen, and I think he'll help us find Ella and that Shade, but I don't think Deyana will."  
"What about Julio?" I looked at Stelo. He shrugged again, heading towards the door.  
"If he helps us, he helps us, and if not, I'm still sticking to my opinions," Stelo smiled slightly at me. "I'm going to find you some food, okay?"  
I nodded, sitting deftly in the little bed, staring out a little porthole at a dark ocean. I shivered the eerie murky water the only scene. I stared around, touching the course brown blankets, but soft sheets, and lovely green comforter on my bed. I stared at the stacks of books and folders against the wall. The walls, however, were bare, nothing covering them, and it reminded me of the dormers, where we weren't allowed to hang pictures.  
I sighed, remembering the night Ella escaped, when the sky was full of clouds and rain poured down on the dry pavement. I sat up, hearing movement from the bunk below me. She had the sharp object, a blade, and held it over her wrist. She cut her wrist.  
The blood spewed across the floor, on the blankets, but she didn't stop. Madness in her eyes, Ella drove it home, wrenching the tracker out in barely minutes. I gasped, stumbling down, grabbing the bloody blade, and stuffing it away in my mattress. Stelo and I used it, barely days later, to escape.  
I passed out in a cold sweat after I removed my tracker. It was a horrid night, and I shivered uncontrollably as I sat in the warm blankets. "Are you okay?" The soft voice of Julio whispered.  
"It's just, just a memory, you know?" I whispered. "When I escaped the dorms."  
"Yes," Julio sighed. "That sounds traumatic, and I'm glad I never had to do it."  
"Do you know anyone that's escaped?" I hoped maybe there was someone else to talk to.  
"No, but your friend Stelo was telling us about it," he shook his head, closing his eyes. "I wish it upon no one."  
"The . . . winger," I whispered.  
"Deyana's . . . I'm not sure, really. She calls it a person, and Dan calls it a monster," Julio shrugged.  
"And you?" I asked. This man, the scarred Indian, was the only one who talked straight out to me, and suddenly, I relieved the memories.  
"I don't know, and you?" I froze.  
"Wingers are creatures, but why does she have one?" I shivered, remembering the winger that took off so many friends to the meat factory.  
"Well, she removed the device that the overlords use to manipulate the human brain, it has emotions, and now, thanks to a surgery, it can talk," Julio sighed. "At the price of my friend's voice box."  
"What?" I jumped up, suddenly alert and oddly jumbled inside. "No, what happened? That doesn't happen!"  
"Yes, it does," Julio shook his head again. "She opened up the human memories, supposedly, and unsuppressed the human emotions, and used my dead friend's voice box so the winger can talk."  
"Oh, Lord, oh my," I felt faint, and suddenly sick. "Why do you do it!"  
"Oh, I see we're talking," Dan strolled in the room, a smirk on his face. Both Julio and I stopped speaking. "Well, it's time for a trip, to find new sewer tunnels. What do you two people say? Ready to join the team?"  
"Oh, okay," I staggered out of the bed with the help of Julio's strong arm. I was still in my clothes I'd passed out in, but that wasn't bad, and soon, I was walking down the metallic hallways, secretly fearing the winger, the room, and the girl, Deyana.  
"The subs," Dan marched us forward, and soon, we met up with Stelo, lips tightly pressed together, standing awkwardly by Deyana and the winger. "Ready to go, Deyana?"  
"What?" She cocked her head.  
"Either you go, or you and your winger don't go, and I'm certainly not taking maps of these tunnels, and I don't go unless you go and take care of your winger and take some responsibility," Dan's challenged silenced everyone. Deyana snarled, stepping forward, but Dan stood up, proud and strong, facing her down with silence evil stares.  
"Let's go," Deyana hoisted up the winger, walking into the sub first. Dan ushered Stelo and me in next with a sweeping bow. I stared at my confused friend, but Stelo's eyes seemed to be pondering something, not noticing me. I sighed, sitting quietly by Julio.  
He stared into space, looking slightly unnerved, watching Deyana pilot the sub away from it's docking area in the under water lab. Then, Julio looked at me. His eyes filled with worry, and a fear, tenseness, lingered long in his eyes as he conveyed everything to me in a stare. I frowned, shivering slightly, unnerved at the silence, at this sudden mission.  
The sub shuddered, jolting my weakened body against the wall. Most of the people slid across the floor, into the walls, as Deyana rose the sub to the surface. "Alright, Dan, here we are," Deyana pulled out a notebook. "I'll take notes, manly man, and you go scout it out, alright?"  
"Come on," Dan motioned us out of the sub, and I followed Julio obediently. The tunnel had a foul smell, and darkness was descending. I shivered in the cold, from weakness mostly. I wanted food so badly.  
"This isn't a good idea," I told Julio as we quietly began to trudge down the tunnel. He stared down at me, but I couldn't read his expression. Dan and Stelo had the two flashlights ahead, and behind, Deyana's soft pattering footprints came. I stared back at her, carrying the winger, much heavier than she was comfortable carrying, slung over her shoulder.  
"Shh," Julio covered my mouth, grabbing Dan's shoulder. "Let's go back," he whispered. "This isn't safe. The ferrets will come," I gasped, turning around, almost smacking right into Deyana. I couldn't see her face, but she didn't move forward, but stood quietly in her spot, breathing.  
"Nah," Dan muttered. "We're fine, and besides, we'll just kill it if we find a ferret."  
"You just don't find a ferret," Deyana hissed. "There's always five together, not just one, and those ferrets aren't weak."  
"Thought you'd love another pet," Dan laughed quietly, but it echoed, twisting into a demonic sound. I shivered, standing there by Deyana, my heart pounding.  
"Back," Deyana turned to go as the sudden burst of movement from a side tunnel exploded, and the five sets of red eyes flashed, chasing after us. I screamed, dashing down towards the entrance in the pitch darkness.  
Behind me, as I passed up Deyana, I heard knives cutting at the ferrets, and a couple growls as Julio, Dan, and oh god, Stelo! I turned around, suddenly, going after Stelo. He'd been my only friend, and I needed him.  
"Stelo!" I grabbed Stelo's arm, realizing there were only three pairs of red eyes left. "Let's go!" Stelo rushed after me, and soon, I heard Dan and Julio follow, and then, the slithering of the ferrets in the water could be heard.  
"The sub!" Dan raced ahead, catching up to Deyana, whose form was shiloetted against the tunnel entrance. She hopped into the sub, and Dan followed, Stelo letting go of my hand, pulling ahead.  
"Stelo!" I reeled off balance as Stelo shot away from me. I reached out, falling forward, smacking into the stagnant water, only hearing the ferrets slithering towards me. Suddenly, I flew out of the water, yanked by my waist, pulled towards the sub, face towards the oncoming ferrets, as one reached out with it's claw, and scratched my face.  
My screamed was lost as I fell into the sub, hitting the floor, world spinning, going dizzy around me again. Oh, god, I didn't want to pass out again, but the pain in my head, and I was so weak.  
  
(Liza)  
A single light illuminated the gray ceiling. Oh, my head! I didn't have enough energy to turn it, but I stared, none the less, at the light, hurting my eyes, causing my head more pain.  
"Liza," Stelo stood over me, blocking the light, his face dark, angry, and worried. "You okay?"  
"Stelo, you tripped me," I gaped, not knowing what to say. "I fell, and you tripped me."  
"I didn't trip you!" Stelo shouted, making me cringe. "Liza, I thought you could catch up!" He sighed, pressing his lips close to me ear. "Dan will help us get to Shade."  
"Oh," I whispered, suddenly jumping at the sound of footsteps, and then, brash yelling reached my ears.  
"YOU BASTARD!" Deyana's voice rang out. "You question my authority!"  
"You have not authority! Only that which we give you, and now, we're taking back the power," I sat up, Stelo steadying me, so I could see Dan, Julio, and Deyana enter the room.  
"Then, where are you going?" Deyana faced down Dan, who straightened up, about to answer.  
"To Shade," Stelo cut in. "A friend who escaped, she's taking us to him. Dan, Liza, and I are going. Julio can come if he wants, but you've hurt us enough," Stelo spat at a very shocked Deyana. She froze, caught in a plan not her own, a web Stelo and Dan carefully wove, and suddenly, looked so lost and alone.  
"Fine," she whispered. "Get the hell out of here, then, and I'd like to never see any of you again, and if you don't find this Shade, don't come back. You can die, or become creatures, and I won't save any part of you."  
"Good," Dan came over to me, helping Stelo lift me off the table. I stared over at Deyana, and then, I noticed, in the other corner, the winger lying on the table, staring up at us, craning its neck to see us leave.  
"Et toi?" Deyana passed by Julio on her way to the winger. Julio watched her, frowning deeply, knowing full well her quote's meaning. He turned, and came over to us, as Stelo and Dan proceeded to pack the boxes, and I leaned against the wall, looking at Julio.  
"Julio?" I whispered, barely able to hear my voice. He frowned, staring down at me, and then at Dan and Stelo before casting a look at Deyana, sitting in a chair, writing at the winger's side. The winger made a hoarse noise, and it might have been speaking.  
"Dan, Liza needs food," he spoke quietly.  
"Not now," Dan waved his hand. "We've got to go, while it's still day light," Dan packed up a couple boxes, taking them out to the sub. "She's tough."  
"Bastard," Julio growled as he grabbed all the boxes, taking them out the door. "Stay there!" I leaned against the wall as the three guys took everything out. I panted, feeling faint. I needed food, water, oh god, anything would do!  
I looked at her, sitting there, alone, writing on the tablet, and I heard her talking to the winger. "I'm certainly not going any where. There's no where to go, and even if there was, we're the safest down here, and this is our home."  
"Th-ay hayt us," the winger's words were clear for the first time yet. "Leesha, Stehlow, Huliho, and Dan."  
"Yes, oh well," Deyana sighed, patting the winger's head. Overwhelmed by the strangeness, I slumped against the floor. All I wanted was some food, and suddenly, I didn't have the nerve to ask the two of them.  
"Liza, it's time to go," Stelo motioned for me to stand up and Dan grew impatient. Julio walked in last, picking me up, sitting me on a chair. He looked into my eyes, the question and concern so clear. Did I want to go?  
"No," I sighed. "I don't think I-I-I . . ."  
Julio silenced me, keeping his hand on his shoulder, turning to Dan and Stelo. "I'll drive you to the surface, but no more," Julio exited the room. "Deyana, get Liza something to eat!" I began to shiver, and I stared at my hands, watching them shake, the blue veins showing. As food was thrust under my nose, I jumped at Deyana's sudden movement.  
"Eat it," she ordered with a certain weariness about her I'd never seen yet. I picked up the burger, stuffing it into my mouth a couple luceous bites, swallowing all of it, downing it with a glass of water. She took the plate away, walking out of the room, coming back in with a plate full for French fries. I ate them all, deciding this meal was the best I'd ever tasted.  
"Gone," Julio's deep voice came with his heavier footsteps. "The sub is back, and they're gone."  
"I see," Deyana's voice showed weakness overlaid with sadness. Julio walked past me and over to Deyana. I looked up as he looked down into her eyes, a stern and worn expression on his dark features.  
"I'm not leaving," Julio sighed. "Your ideas aren't exactly mine, but I trust you because you're intelligent, and possibly because you're a friend."  
"I see," Deyana glanced at me. "Liza?"  
"What?" I didn't know what to say. "Thank you for the food?"  
"Stelo," Julio walked over to me. "He's gone, and I know he was your friend, and I'm not bothering you with your motives for staying now, and if you want, you can leave later . . ."  
"But we appreciate your better judgement," Deyana's laugh sounded sad and broken. "You're preferable over Dan. We never got along."  
"Oh," I sighed, staring back at the winger, who strained to see us talking across the room. Deyana saw where I stared, came forward, and pulled me across to where the winger sat. With food in my stomach, this didn't seem nearly as bad as about a day ago.  
"This is Theresa," Deyana pointed to the winger. "And everyone is aware you are Liza." I smiled faintly, a feeling of being over whelmed flooding into every corner of my brain. I let out a gigantic yawn.  
"Great idea," Deyana sighed, flicking off the lights, picking up Theresa, as Julio gently led me out of the room. "Your room is . . ."  
"No," Julio cut in. "My room. We'll spend the night in my room, on the floor, since there's only one bed, but sleeping without another soul in the room isn't a very appeasing idea tonight."  
I nodded as the Indian man opened his door, and a brilliant scene came to life. A garden from the tropics flourished in front of me, and part of a garden from China, Europe, and an unfinished wall and ceiling were covered with paint.  
"I never knew you were an artist," Deyana smiled for real, walking out of the room, coming back with large plates of food. "We'll get more later, but for now, I think all of our strengths are gone."  
Julio pulled out stacks of blankets, laying them on the floor, arranging four beds. I sat down, just wanting to sleep. Deyana placed Theresa on the other side of her, and she lay down by me. Julio lay on my other side. He flicked off the lights. Generators were still humming softly, but stillness enveloped me.  
"It's so quiet," I whispered. I couldn't remember the quiet. The dorms always were noisy. The escape had been noisy. Being here had been noisy until now.  
"I know," Julio answered. I heard Theresa breathing on the other side of Deyana, whose breathing was steady and slow. The Next Day:  
(Liza)  
I felt a gentle nudge. I lay there, warm, content, after a deep sleep. I turned over, hearing Julio move beside me. "Hmm?" I mumbled. I felt to the other side. Deyana and Theresa still slept.  
"Shh, I just had to go the bathroom, and it's morning. We've practically slept a whole day," Julio sighed. "Well needed rest, though."  
"I'm hungry," I mumbled. Julio moved, giving me his hand. I stood up, walking with him out the door. The hall lights were still on, and I followed him down the hall. "Where are we going?"  
"I'm giving you a small tour, since you're part of our little team." Julio walked into a small kitchen at the end of the hallway. "The kitchen's the second largest place, next to the lab. There's not a lot of food, so we'll be running a mission soon, just to let you know."  
"Okay," I replied quietly. Julio walked down the hall, pointing out my room, Deyana's room, Dan's old room, and the bathroom, boiler room, laundry room, and a couple other places.  
"And you know the lab is in here," Julio nodded to the door. "I don't go in there much because it's Deyana's study, but when you want to know what's up, feel free to go in."  
"Okay," I replied. I walked back to the kitchen, and Julio scrounged up a couple more burgers for breakfast. We arrived at his room, and Deyana and Theresa were awake, talking, but quit when we entered.  
"Morning," Deyana smiled. Her normal strength seemed to have come back, and the weariness vanished, but left a certain warmness in her voice. "Glad to see you."  
"Yes," Julio and I sat down and ate. "We're low on food. We need a new supply route."  
"Of course," Deyana sighed. "We could find a new route to the old place, which is good, but it maybe be watched."  
"Yeah, we need a safe passageway," Julio added. "Okay, Liza, Theresa, and I will go and find a new route."  
"Maybe I should come," Julio's eyes widened at her request. "I couldn't do anything here at the moment. I'd like to know where you're going, also, so I know the route, if I ever need to use it."  
"That's right, you have all the maps," Julio gathered up our plates. "All the equipment is in the sub room." Deyana led the way to the sub room, carrying Theresa. She gave me a knife, gun, and rope. I put them on a belt, stepping into the sub. Julio arrived, grabbing some dynamite. He handed Deyana a hug notebook.  
"Okay, we're going to try tunnel D8," Deyana stared at the map. Julio steered the sub, and we reached the surface. "We'll try to reroute to the original site. Stay together, if possible. We've never used these tunnels before."  
"Quiet," Julio put a finer over his mouth, leading the rest of us into the sewers. I tramped along in the muck, following the small beam of Deyana's mini flashlight. She stared at the papers, pointing where to go to Julio. Soon, they stopped. Julio climbed up a ladder, and Deyana and I followed.  
"Where are we?" Julio whispered when we reached the street above. It was deserted, a back ally some where.  
"About two blocks away," Deyana sighed. "That's a good route, for now. Liza and you should get the food. We'll wait." Deyana carried Theresa back down into the tunnels. I followed Julio stealthily, crawling under cars, hiding behind trashcans, for two blocks.  
"This is the warehouse," Julio opened the door's many locks. He did several locks, and then, turned on lights. "Go get as much canned food as possible." I grabbed the cans, throwing as many into a little burlap bag as possible. We walked outside, taking the bags back to Deyana and Theresa.  
"We need more meat," Julio whispered down into the tunnel. "Liza and I'll be back in twenty minutes. If we're not, go." I shivered as Julio led me down three blocks, and we arrived at an old building.  
"There's a freezer in the basement. Take out your knives." I drew my knife and gun, following Julio into the cold basement. He took out a flashlight. At the top of the stairs, he showed it down into the darkness. Cold sweat poured over my body, and my gun shook in my white hand.  
A hiss came from the cellar. Julio froze in his tracks, eyes widening. He grabbed my arm, and we raced up the stairs. Something followed us, but we reached the street, and Julio kept running with me until we came back to the tunnel.  
"Ferrets," Julio ushered me down into the sewers. "Damn ferrets in our cellar." Julio jumped down after me. "Let's go. We've got enough food for now." Deyana led the way back, and not too soon, we were back in the lab.  
"That's not good," Deyana frowned. "Ferrets are extremely blood thirsty," she stared off into space. "Hmm, I suppose, if I told you my idea, you'd say it would get us all killed."  
"If it's the brain thing, there's probably five ferrets, and we couldn't take them on," Julio sighed. "Not just the two of us."  
"Four of us," Deyana cut in. "The four of us."  
"Theresa can't do anything underground," Julio sighed. "It's not worth it at the moment."  
"We need that meat, Julio," Deyana sighed. "We should give it a shot, at least, to draw them out, or kill them, at the most."  
"What? Can you kill them?" I whispered. Deyana nodded. "Have you done it?"  
"A couple times, but we had ten people," Julio sighed. "It was hard then, with double their numbers, and we'll certainly die, now."  
"Considering our turn of luck, we need a large number," Deyana sighed. "Since not a lot of kids are going to bust out of the dormitory any time soon, this is how we're acquiring people."  
"Why?" I whispered.  
"Numbers first, and then, we'll see how the Overlords fare," Deyana scowled. She'd just mocked the Overlords. I swallowed, unable to speak any more. She'd mocked the Overlords.  
  
A/N: Okay, sorry, had a little writer's block. I've begun to have the policy of focusing on one main story at a time, and I want this one done right. I'll still write it, but for the moment, Interim Battles is getting attention. Don't worry, review, and this will be finished. Promise. Thank, MorganRay. 


	12. Ferrets and Myrmidons

Chapter Twelve: Ferrets and Myrmidons  
(Liza)  
"So, we go to the basement, get the ferrets, get the meat, and bolt for the sub?" Theresa lay her head on my lap as Deyana loaded pistols and gave each of us several extra knives, as well as a sword each.  
"Yes, exactly," she loaded Julio's backpack down with dynamite. "We're in, we're out, one or two ferrets, with luck, will come with us. Julio and I'll take the ferrets, and you'll carry Theresa, until we need you to help us take down the ferrets."  
"Compromise only if our lives are compromised," Julio added. I stared down at the winger, who gazed back up at me. Deyana usually carried Theresa, but Julio thought it best I should this time. Deyana objected at first. She warned me not to slander Theresa in anyway, reminding me constantly that the only thing she had left was her mind.  
"Let's go. With all luck, we'll remain undetected," Deyana stepped out first, followed by Julio. I picked up Theresa. Her weight hurt the shoulder I carried her on, so I switched shoulders every so often. It wasn't wise to carry her in my arms, like Deyana did, because I might need both my hands.  
"Up," Julio kept me from continuing down the tunnel. He went up first, and I adjusted Theresa to get us both up. I felt her dig her feet into my thigh, to keep from falling off. I bit my lip to keep from screaming in pain.  
The sunset filtered across the horizon. Deyana insisted this would be a safe time. The wingers would be roasting, and there was enough sunlight to hurt the ferret's eyes. We passed the warehouse, continuing to the rundown building, with the meat and ferrets in the basement.  
I paused inside the door, staying in the remaining rays of sunlight. Julio motioned for me to draw my knives, and I did so. Julio walked down the stairs first, followed by Deyana. I heard Theresa squeak, out of fear. "Yeah, I know," I whispered as I again went down the dark stairs.  
The hissing came from the basement. I saw the five sets of red eyes. Julio and Deyana charged down the stairs, and I stayed frozen, afraid to draw my gun and miss.  
I saw two eyes come after me, and I lunged at the creature. I threw Theresa on it, and I heard a yelp of pain as she hurt it. I found the neck, swiping the blade through the throat. I found Theresa, coming over to help a struggling Deyana. I could only see three pairs of eyes, and so I killed the ferret Deyana battled.  
"You're quite efficient with the blade," Deyana panted, racing over to Julio. The other two went down, struggling, and soon, everything was silent.  
"This one," Deyana instructed Julio. He picked up a ferret, and Deyana walked back across the room. "And I've got this one."  
"They're sedated for a couple hours, but we'll need another sedative," Deyana led the way up the stairs. When we got in the fading light, I flinched at the ghastly sight of the ferrets. Their snake like bodies, covered with thick, ebony fur, were wider than my waist. They stretched taller than I did when I saw them, in light, stretched over Julio and Deyana's shoulders. I shuddered at the huge fangs and small arms, supporting sharp talons. Was there really a human brain inside those things?  
We raced along, between cards, trying to hide. Deyana and Julio both received several wounds, although Deyana's were the worst. I could see the warehouse, but as we passed it, I heard the loud booming footfalls. My heart raced. "Oh my God!" I screamed. Julio Deyana took off at a run, but neither of us moved very fast.  
"Leth me gho!" Theresa screeched. "PLEHSE!"  
I took her off my shoulders, and she ran a couple feet on her little legs, taking off into the air. She soared, and I watched her, flying over us, coming low enough to follow close enough to us. "AHEAD!"  
The seven Myrmidons advanced, getting ready to trap us in their nets. Julio walked up beside me. "Help me out, and if we go down, Deyana, run." I drew a knife and the swords. Julio drew his sword. He grabbed a stick of dynamite, lit it, let the fuse burn down, and threw it at the advancing Myrmidons, killing four of them.  
The remaining Myrmidons were too close. One shot their net, catching me. I screamed, using my sword to cut the trappings. Julio advanced on the other two, also getting caught. Theresa swooped down, pulling the one holding Julio on to the ground. She dragged the creature along as it tried to cut her.  
I fought at my creature, but it got annoyed, ready to pierce me through. It froze as several gunshots riddled its armor. It glared at me, as I pulled away. I turned back, watching Deyana, pistol cocked, aiming at the other creature. She never missed it, and soon, Julio had rejoined us.  
"MORE!" Theresa flew back over. She swooped back at the other Myrmidon. Deyana raced over to the scene, pulling out a dose of sedatives. She ran over, injecting the Myrmidon while Theresa attached it. The creature went limp, and I gasped at the feat.  
"Help me!" Deyana screamed.  
"You're crazy," Julio whispered, walking over, helping Deyana anyway. "What if it wakes?"  
"The ferrets?" I whispered. Deyana waved her hand, obviously considering the Myrmidon more important. I raced back to the tunnel, reaching it first. Theresa helped Deyana and Julio drag the Myrmidon, and soon, Deyana descended the tunnel with me. Next, Julio threw Theresa down, and then, he threw the Myrmidon down.  
"Be careful! You'll break its neck!" Deyana hissed. Julio jumped down.  
"More," he whispered. The squeaking of trackers could be heard. "Run like hell. Liza, Deyana, help me."  
I grabbed Theresa, racing back to the sub. The sewers were dark, and I was terrified of getting lost, but I'd memorized the way we took. I arrived at the end of the tunnel, climbing into the sub. Deyana and Julio soon followed.  
We descended, but I couldn't breathe a sigh of relief. The monstrous Myrmidon lay at my feet. How long would it sleep? Deyana pulled out another tube of sedative. She injected it again, a frown deeply set on her face. In her eyes, sparkled ambition, pure and unbridled. (Deyana)  
Julio and Liza hoisted the huge creature out of the sub. I grabbed Theresa, hauling her into her bedroom. "Yhour arhm," I gazed down at the bloody gash. I nodded, walking out of the room.  
"Julio, help me, like last time," Julio already began doing the restraints. "Liza, draw a gun and a knife. If it wakes before I'm done, you're damage control. Julio, more restraints."  
"If it wakes?" Liza's face paled. I gathered the surgical equipment. Julio walked over to me, bandages in hand.  
"You can't operate without me fixing your arm," he cleaned it for infection, and then wrapped it up, tending to all my less serious wounds, too. "Okay, should I remove the armor?"  
"Only the head gear," Julio took off the helmet that the Myrmidon wore. Liza gasped at the actual face of the creature. The nose protruded a little farther than a human's, the brows where heavy, and the skin rumpled and thick, almost like scales. There was fur covering the forehead, head, and chin. Two small horns protruded from its head, but otherwords, the face remarkable resembled a human's face.  
"Creepy," Liza whispered. I had already begun the incisions through the thick skull, penetrating my way down to the little, silver ball. I removed it, carefully repairing the Myrmidon's skull, stitching up the thick skin. I sighed, smashing the ball to pieces.  
"Good," I sighed. Liza lowered her weapons, but Julio remained on his guard. "You may go rest, now, and I'll call you when it wakes. There shouldn't be a mission for a while, unless I run into problems, because Myrmidons come with the capability to speak."  
"Good," Julio began to treat his own wounds. Liza headed out, back to her room. I followed her, deciding to see Theresa.  
"Are you going to sleep, too?" Liza asked quietly. I shook my head. Liza watched as I walked into Theresa's room. She considered following me, waiting at the door, and then, peered in. "Good night," she smiled at the two of us, hinting I wanted to talk to just Theresa.  
"Nice," Theresa said. I nodded, watching the winger maneuver her way up into the sleeping bag. I lay on the bed below, looking up at her.  
"Splendid job today."  
"Thanks," Theresa's English began increasingly better. "I flhoh."  
"Yes, everyone certainly pulled their weight quite efficiently," I gazed into the dark ocean. "I think that's what made the original team so weak. We were inexperienced, and some didn't pull their weight."  
"Dan?"  
"Yes, a little," I sighed. "There were others. Lucky Julio survived. He's the hardest worker I've ever had."  
"Yesh," Theresa replied. "Nice."  
"Yes," I sighed, laying down. "Don't fall, okay?"  
"Ohkhay," Theresa replied. I closed my eyes, drifting into a state of being half-awake and asleep.  
I sat up, unable to continue this charade of terrible half sleep. Time passed, apparently, although my brain felt the hours in half consciousness. No, my mind lay in the lab, drifting over the moment of victory or bloody defeat.  
I stood up, hearing Theresa's easy breathing. Good, she slept well, and with luck, would have another companion. I slid into the lab, the table illuminated only by one light. I leaned against a cabinet, in a dark corner, watching the sedated Myrmidon.  
Victory or defeat, but whatever was worth it for this priceless opportunity. No Myrmidon had ever been captured by my team. Good graces had it I'd done a surgery before now.  
The turning of the tide, what a tantalizing phrase! Foolish, really, to think this as the decisive moment, for that really already happened. Still, I felt it, alone, waiting, left with nothing to do but think.  
When time spared me a moment to think, I was on the verge. Of what, I never could be sure, but like before Theresa, I felt it. I drank the moment, realizing when it woke up, I'd know if the surgery worked. I'd never studied them Myrmidons, so it could easily wake and kill us all.  
Still, death seemed a shadow. At least Dan wasn't here to ruin this for me. Theresa already existed here, breaching that boundary for this creature. Theresa's sacrifice could never be underestimated, her with holding against Dan never forgotten. She never told me, but I knew him.  
That loathsome bastard! He took Stelo, who would have been another useful number. Better, though, to have three loyal than five treacherous. I smiled, slightly, realizing how quickly everything began to move. My plan began to slide along, and this would advance my cause. True, the supply route was still dangerous, and a new one still might need to be found.  
A loud groan came from the creature. I felt my body go rigid, breathless, and stiff. I waited for the attack, secretly hoping against it. The eyes opened, staring up at the ceiling. Another deep groan reverberated from its throat.  
Ah, another success. I watched, letting my smile grow wide. Great risk reaped greater advantages. I didn't move, watching its eyes. Thoughts raced behind the eyes.  
Fear flashed about, fear of the surrounding. If Theresa's account was correct, it couldn't remember a period of time before its sad birthday. Intelligent eyes pieced quickly together that information. Escape, the eyes screamed. It thought it might be in the meat factory.  
Escape not from surrounding, I realized, but from its body. The eyes pleaded silently for it. I walked forward. "There's no escape from there."  
"Death," a deep base voice replied. I scowled.  
"Suicide, a coward's choice," I gazed down, furious, at this mind's choice. "Death? Death! The dead cannot change their fortunes! While in life, things may be done, but in death, it is over."  
"Better," the eyes looked towards the side. I felt the urge to kill this pathetic thing on the table.  
"Better? Is that so? Do you think your fate is entirely your own? No! Our lives don't belong to us, but are more than just ours." I grabbed the little clipboard, which I recorded things I knew about Theresa on. "Wasn't your sad birthday death? Isn't that what you thought? Surprised to wake up alive? You've invoked my anger, so answer!"  
"Overlord," the creature spat. I laughed for a while, enjoying the naïve comment.  
"Deyana Obligato, scientist, and fortunately not an Overlord," I stood over the creature. "Odd, that you accuse me of a thing, though. Have you met an overlord?"  
"No," the creature replied, squinting its dark eyes at me. I nodded.  
"Then you wouldn't know," I met its eyes. Miserable, reluctant eyes, not what I needed right now. I needed the resolve that the others gave me. "Name?"  
The creature rolled its head to the side, refusing to look at me. I waited, but it didn't answer. "Damn it, you will answer! You have a name, and you WILL tell it to me! NOW! Get over this pathetic mood, and TELL ME!"  
"Calvin Shaw," the creature looked at me with denial and terrible pain in its eyes. I nodded, not nearly satisfied.  
"Good, Calvin, that's a start," I scribbled his name down. "You resent me without knowing who I am." I grabbed the silver ball in Theresa's head. I showed it to him. The eyes widened on instinct, subconsciously knowing what it was. "Yes, this was in your brain, and I popped it out. It's the manipulator that suppressed your emotions and human memories."  
"Why didn't they just kill me?" His eyes showed pure loathing for the ball. I growled, placing the ball back in the jar.  
"For the same reason I didn't," I scowled. "Because it's war, and they need people, and I need people. Want to wage war with the overlords?" The pathetic misery left his eyes, and they began alert and intelligent. He nodded. "Good, because numbers is the key to that. How many humans do you think I can get my hands on?"  
The eyes reproached me, looking to the side. He knew the answer was next to none. "The human mind is human enough for me. It's the overlord's technology against them. However, brainless, barbaric creatures is not what I want."  
"Sick, miserable plan," he muttered. I approached him, waiting until he looked into my livid eyes.  
"The last girl didn't think so," I hissed. The eyes widened slightly. "Yes, there is another, fool. She seemed more grateful for a chance to have some say in her fate again. Ungrateful, Calvin," I paused after his name. "Ungrateful is what you are, fool, for what is offered."  
"A miserable second chance," he grumbled.  
"Second chances are rare, and should be thanked a thousand times for in this terrible world," I scowled. "If you'd like, I'll place that ball right back in your head." His eyes widened terror in them. I felt a smile glide over my face. "Hmm, I see. Corporate, remove yourself from this disposition you're in, and you may see my way soon."  
"Doubt it," he sighed. I took a look at the restraints. "Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending," his eyes fixed on me. I fixed his gaze after I spoke in a calm voice to him. "How old were you when the change happened?"  
"Ten," he scowled. It was a terrible look, but I ignored it.  
"I'm willing to release the restraints, if you follow me, on solemn promise not to kill yourself, but to stay in my service." He looked at me. He nodded.  
"Yes," was the sullen reply. I undid the many restraints Julio so beautifully put on the table. I motioned for him to stand up, and he obeyed. His eyes still held a dead quality. I hoped it would pass with time.  
"Come," I motioned for him. I led him into Dan's old room. "You'll stay here. We're in an underwater lab, so don't do anything stupid, which if you got out of that mood, I'm sure you'd be quite intelligent. Good night, then, Calvin."  
I shut the door slightly disgusted, knowing work would be needed to stop this terrible moping. Right now, I was too exhausted to care how it'd be done.  
  
(A/N: Okay, Drum is cool. I plan to involve Drum and Ella in this story a little later. Trust me, it's going to work out. Thanks for reviewing, MorganRay) 


	13. Rerouting the Supply Route

Rerouting the Supply Route 

(Theresa)

I opened my eyes into complete darkness. I liked the feeling of just hanging here, absolutely motionless. For a second, I thought of falling, flopping down on the bed. I'd thought of falling often, but I'd never flown until now.

I'd always liked swings, going high up in the air and Ferris wheels when you reached the highest point. I'd never flown on a plane, but I'd always wanted to do it. I'd never dreamed of flying, with nothing to hold me up but my own body, until today.

I remembered I could fly when I wished I knew how many Myrmidons there were. I remembered I could fly when I wished I could help Deyana. I was surprised my legs could move, but they did, and my body responded, allowing me to soar.

It's the first thing I'd liked about this body. I could fly, not just hang by my feet and be carried around. I could fly.

Could I fly from this bar? I let go, moving my wings, descending towards the door. I stayed in the air, scratching the door with my feet, finally opening it. I went in the hallway, but the passageway was too small. I hit my wings, and flopped to the floor.

Where would I go? I moved slowly, crawling with my feet and edges of my wings, down the hall. I reached the door that led to Dan's room. What was in there? I tried to fly up, but ended up banging myself against the cold metal. I flew up again, catching the handle, opening the door barely an inch.

I then wedged it open, crawling slowly into the darkened room. As I wedged my way farther inside, I stopped, staring at something in the corner. It was a large form, sitting in the corner, and as I moved farther in, I knew what it was.

Deyana's Myrmidon had apparently awoken, and was now in Dan's room. I waddled farther in, deciding to venture a word. "Hi."

The creature looked over at me, dark eyes looking intently at me. It was the first time I'd ever seen a Myrmidon's face, and it shocked me how human it was. There was more hair, and the nostrils looked larger, and the nose looked altogether squarer and muzzle like. The skin that I could see was thick and bumpy, like warts or pimples grew all over it.

"You're the other one," the deep, base voice more said than asked. I waddled in, deciding to venture getting a little closer.

"I'hm Therehsa," I said to the creature, a slight irrational fear building inside me. I still remembered the Myrmidons from the dorm days, but I tried to convince myself this was different.

"Don't you want to die?"

I paused, not sure how to answer. Yes, I did, partly, want to just not exist and have to live like this. Dan had abused me to my limit, but after Dan left, it became more tolerable. I felt attached, in some way, to Deyana. I liked her for what she'd done, eventually, and I genially liked her for a person.

"At fhirst, but now, I lhike it," I spoke slowly enough so he could understand everything I said. The creature surveyed me, not sure if he believed me.

"I want to die," he muttered, and I almost didn't catch what he said, his voice was so low.

"It'hs nhot all that bhad," I told him, hoping he might feel better. I did understand, and I could only imagine how disgusted I would've been to wake up as a Myrmidon. Nobody liked Myrmidons except the Overlords. Everyone feared the huge monsters that wanted to and easily could kill you.

"Theresa," Deyana's voice called. I turned my head, looking towards the crack in the door. Deyana's slim, small shadow soon appeared in the doorway. "Oh, good, I see you've found Calvin. I hope you've talked some sense into him."

With that, Deyana picked me up, walking back into the hall. She turned, facing in the room again. "Come on, we need your help. We need to reroute this bloody supply route once and for all. We're running low on food."

(Calvin)

"The creatures will be watching the area. We'll go in two separate groups. Julio, Theresa, and myself will go to the supply house and get supplies. Calvin and Liza will go down into the basement and get meat. We'll take two separate entrances. My group will get out at one ladder, while Calvin and Liza will go down two more ladders before coming above ground. It's a good time of day, very early in the morning. We shouldn't run into a lot of problems now that the ferrets are cleared out."

I stood there, in the gray, immaculate lab, listening like a robot to Deyana's words. What did they matter? Nothing. I looked at the tall, Asian man standing calmly beside me. He had scars all over his body and some were freshly bandaged. Did I do that to him?

I darted my gaze over to the younger Hispanic girl with thick hair and eyelashes. She stood close to the man, Julio, and had looked at me once, and her eyes had gone wide. She hated me. I knew it by the way she avoided looking anywhere in my direction.

"Got that?" Deyana looked in my direction. I gave a slow nod. Deyana picked up Theresa, leading the way towards the sub. I came last, clinking and clanging down the metal hallways. I ducked through the small sub door, which no of the others had problems getting through.

Deyana kept my helmet off. I wanted it to hide my face. I only guessed she kept it off to distinguish me from other Myrmidons if we got in a battle. She didn't want to accidentally kill me, of course.  
The sub chugged slowly up towards the surface. Deyana opened the door, and Julio led the way down the dark tunnel. I was glad my sense of smell was practically none existent so I couldn't smell how gross this sewage tunnel must smell.

I stepped off last, closing the door after Deyana carried Theresa out. Deyana cut up in front, with Julio, and I stayed in the rear, following Liza. The girl walked slowly, very close to Deyana. We plodded along for a while, and I began to look for the exit ladders.

"AH!" I stopped suddenly, running into Liza. She let out a blood-curdling scream. I jumped back, making a terrible ruckus. I felt my heart racing, cursing myself mentally for probably hurting her.

"Shut up," Deyana whispered, covering Liza's mouth. She stared up at me, motioning me back over.

I didn't want to move. Liza's eyes were wide, huge and filled with fear. She was terrified of me. Could I blame her? I hated Myrmidons, everyone did, in the dorms. I hated myself. I couldn't blame her for hating me.

"Get over here, and be quiet," she snapped at me. I walked obediently behind Liza, who was shaking slightly. "Julio and I are going up here. Count two more ladders, and no noise. If you get yourselves killed, we can't help you."

With that, Deyana, Julio, and Theresa ascended to above ground. I waited, keeping a good distance from Liza, so I couldn't scare her again. I could hardly see her, and I couldn't hear her soft splashing steps over my loud footfalls.

"This ladder," I stopped, hearing my loud, guttural voice echo in the silence. Liza jumped slightly, but found the ladder, and slowly began to climb it. She pushed off the metal lid that led to the street, and climbed out. I began to climb, then, wondering if the metal bars would hold my weight.

But they did, and I made it to the surface. I expected sunshine, but as I climbed out, I could barely see an arm length in front of my face. Thick, damp fog hung in huge clouds all over the city, and I couldn't even see the sun.

"I don't know where we are," Liza whispered hoarsely. "We're lost."

I swallowed, realizing I had no idea where we were. There was too much fog. For whatever reason, Liza had no idea where we were, either. I put the lid back on the sewer, and walked forward.

Liza glanced nervously back at me. She started to cautiously step forward in the sea of fog. I lagged behind, trying to spot something, anything, which might be moving in the fog. I kept my distance, determined not to run into Liza again.

I heard nothing, but soon, we were moving down an ally way, and the fog became less. I looked up, able to see the outline of the sun through the deep, thick clouds above me. The last time I'd remembered the sun was through a dingy dorm window.

I reeled back, suddenly, my motion stopped when I banged into a Dumpster. The sound of metal grating on metal sent a splitting sound through the suppressive silence. Liza, who was right beside the Dumpster, screamed bloody murder again. This time, she whirled around and grabbed her knife.

Would the knife actually hurt me? Probably not, but that's all I could take. I'd sit here and die. I didn't ever want to move. I just wanted to die. I turned, sitting right down beside the Dumpster. I leaned my head back against the brick wall, looking up into the endless fog.

"What are you doing?" I heard the soft voice of Liza whisper nearby. I didn't move, not wanting to see her face.

"Dying," I replied deftly. I sat there, listening to her quiet footsteps on the pavement. They passed in front of me. Good, she was going away. I could sit here and die in peace. Then her footsteps stopped. I heard a noise beside me, but I didn't move.

"Listen," her voice came from right beside me. I ignored her presence. "I've been an idiot, okay?"

"I'm going to stay here forever until I die. Tell Deyana I died."

"If that's the way you're going to be, fine," I heard her mutter beside me. Her voice took on a stern tone as she spoke, though, totally different from her voice before. "I'll stay here and die, too."

"Not happening," I replied, glad my voice was slightly muffled in the fog.

"Yeah, it is. Listen, I'm sorry, okay? I spent days running from the trackers and Myrmidons. You were in the dorms, too. You know how it is." Her voice held the stern quality to it still, but softened as she spoke about escaping.

"That's why I want to die. One more dead Myrmidon never hurt anyone."

She went silent. Good, maybe she'd leave. I knew she believed me there. She'd agree with that, for sure, after everything she'd done and gone through. I let the peace settle in on me, waiting until she got up.

Escape. I'd had the chance, a long time ago. Drum asked me to go with him. Had I been too scared? Yes, I'd been terrified of dying. I'd told Drum he was an idiot for trying to escape. They'd kill him for sure.

'Everyone dies.' That's all Drum said to me, right when I tried to talk him out of going. I should be dead now.

"I had friends in the dorms what didn't come with me." Her voice was soft and filled with sadness. I kept looking up into the fog, ignoring her. "If I knew, for a second, that my friends would know me again, if for just a moment, they would know me as Liza again . . ."

Her voice faded for a second and I felt my head drop. I looked at my knees, thinking quietly of my friends. They were all dead now, probably, all serving the Overlords. Drum, they'd probably caught him by now and used him, too.

"I want my friends back," Liza's voice returned very resolved. I turned, looking at her for the first time. She looked up at me, meeting my gaze. She had dark, rich brown eyes. Her gaze was strong, though.

"Even if they were like me?" I asked her. She held me gaze, but it drifted for a second, and then, she met my eyes again. Her stare was stronger than ever, and she nodded again.

"Yes, I want them back. I don't care if it hurt like hell to see them that way everyday, I want them back. I don't want to think they're dead." She paused, and her lips formed a small smile. "You're not dead, either."

"No," I thought quietly, feeling slightly better. "I'm not."

"We better get going," Liza stood up, looking at me. "We need to find that basement now that the fog is clearing."

I stood up, letting Liza walk ahead of me, down the alley. She looked around, and turned, and soon, she'd come to a brick house. She pulled out a flashlight and opened the door. We went down the stairs, into the cellar. Liza let out a quick groan, and I looked where the beam of light fell. On the ground lay three dead ferrets, starting to rot they'd been there for so long.

"These?" I looked warily around, ready for more ferrets. Liza walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, and piled raw, frozen meat into the bag.

Then, she turned around, shot me a nervous look, and raced up the stairs before me. I followed her, glad to come back into the pale morning light. We left the dingy building, and I suddenly realized what a bright day this was turning out to be. We were past safe daylight hours. Liza began to search frantically around a city block for our sewer entrance.

"Where is it?" She muttered. "We're way past time. We'll be caught."

I stared at the pavement, trying to find tracks or marks of any kind. I paused, grabbed Liza, and ran inside the nearest building. I pulled Liza under a table, looking up into the window to see nine wingers fly over right where we'd stood.

"We're being watched," Liza whispered. She looked at me with a deep frown set in her face. She pulled out her knife again, but not on me. She stood up, opened the door, and bolted down the street, down several city blocks.

I didn't ask questions, just struggled to keep up with her quick strides. My strides were huge, but running wasn't easy with the armor and heavy bones. I tried to keep Liza in my view as she sprinted straight under the open sky.

Several city blocks later, Liza opened up a metal lid. She jumped down the hole, and I followed, pulling the lid over the entrance. At the bottom of the rickety rungs she stood there, waiting for me. She was panting, clutching her side, grinning stupidly at him.

"That was crazy," I told her, and my voice echoed into the long sewer tunnel. She laughed in quick pants, then, turned, and began to walk.

"I knew one tunnel entrance, and that was the one Deyana and Julio used. So, I ran after them," Liza giggled slightly, walking through the sloppy, stagnant water. We plodded along, and then, a little bit of light hit the green water.

"Where have you been?" Deyana, arms empty of Theresa, marched towards us, with hands on her hips. "All three of us have waited for you in the sub for about half hour."

"We got lost, and then, we got the meat, and couldn't find our way back," Liza blabbed out a quick explanation, and passed up Deyana, jumping down into the sub. I looked at Deyana, who narrowed her eyes slightly at me, then retreated into the sub. I followed her then, closing the hatch.

(Julio)

"That was a mission well accomplished," Deyana sat at a chair in the lab, scribbling something down. She was pouring through dissection papers, as usual, and making some new ones.

"Liza is happier." I smiled, quietly noting the change in her mood. Her nervous gestures for the day before were gone, and she seemed genuinely much happier about her circumstances. "She wasn't too happy with Calvin at first."

"At least he didn't get killed or do something ridiculous," Deyana muttered. I shook my head, amazed at her attitude toward her newest recruit.

"You were never even this hard on Dan until he was ready to break with you." I walked over to her, and peered over her shoulders.

"That's because this particular boy has emotional issues," Deyana muttered, detailing a paper on how to surgically remove the silver ball from a Myrmidon's head.

"We all do," I replied softly to Deyana's quick, shrill comment.

"I don't sit in my room mauling over them, either," Deyana scoffed, turning a page, reading another dissection paper on ferrets, quite discontent.

"You want another mission," I sighed, feeling her restlessness. My change ability, when I was this close to her, made it unbearable to feel how terribly agitated she was.

"I do." Deyana spun her chair around, looking up at me. "I just want Liza, Calvin, and you to go, though. I want another creature."

"Okay," I shrugged, deciding to replenish the subs food supply before heading out. "Wake them up, brief them, and I'll get everything together."

I walked into our storage room, opening the closet we kept the weapons cache. Dynamite? It was night, so flares and dynamite. Knives or swords? Both, since we'd probably meet ferrets. Guns? No, too dark, we'd never hit our targets. Rope? One, for myself, just in case.

I grabbed the supplies, and met a fully armored Calvin, who wouldn't need anything but maybe a flare, and Liza. Liza wore the belt that would hold her weapons, and wore tights so she could move faster. Under her camouflage jacket she wore a tight T-shirt, also for limberness. She'd hopefully be able to escape any situation where she'd get her clothes caught. That mistake cost us some people early on.

"Let's move," I nodded towards the sub. Liza walked quietly behind me, while Calvin clanked down the hallway. I gave them their weapons as we boarded the sub.

"Where are we going?" I asked, hopping in. Liza handed me a map.

"Deyana said Fishing Pier 12, where the shopping complex is," Liza's tone sounded thoroughly confused. I frowned slightly, giving a quick nod. I knew the place. I'd been there many times as a child.

"It's a haunt of Sapphire Star, so be careful," I told them deftly, piloting the sub under one of the piers. I opened the hatch, helping them onto the beach. We climbed up an old set of wooden steps onto the deserted pier. Eerie street lamps cast lights on the ghostly boardwalk. Neon lights lit up bar signs and festive lights sparkled from vendor's booths.

The mall loomed, lights burning from inside, lighting up the surround area. At least we'd probably not meet a lot of ferrets here. It was too bright for a ferret haunt. That left trackers and Myrmidons, in which case we'd at least have a brief chance. I looked back at Liza and Calvin, very glad to have them alone.

"What's that place?" Liza whispered, pointing at the mall. I chuckled quietly, realizing they'd never seen a mall. If they'd seen one, they surely didn't remember it.

"It's a mall, full of normal, human things. This place looks actually very creature free, at night, anyway." I led them into the mall, through the revolving doors. There was no music, and the crowded, jostling place I remembered echoed of nothing but crackling fluorescent lights that were starting to burn out.

"Oh, it's so big," Liza whispered, pointing at the escalator. I laughed, watching her jump on and ride up. "This is fun! You have to try this!"

Calvin walked over, getting on. It took him up, although he didn't laugh, but motioned for me to come up. I sighed, letting the escalator move me effortlessly up towards the second floor.

"Want something to eat?" I looked around, realizing we'd come up by the food court. "Everything is free."

"Okay," Liza and Calvin followed me over. I jumped into the Dairy Queen booth, deciding ice cream couldn't be that bad, if the freezers still worked. I grabbed three huge cups, sat them on the countered and looked questioningly at Calvin and Liza.

"What do you want?" I asked, a slight grin on my face.

"Well, what is there?" Liza looked around. "I want something very good."

"Okay," I decided to give them two Blizzards with as much chocolate chip cookie dough as was safe to put in. "How about an ice cream cake, too? You can eat that while I get this ready."

I pulled out a huge, slightly freezer burnt, birthday cake from the freezer. I gave it to Calvin with a huge metal knife, some plates, and forks. "Cut it and eat as much as you want. We've got everything that hasn't expired."

I began to make the Blizzards, remembering how I'd always go to Dairy Queen. "How did you learn that?" Calvin asked, and I turned around, watching the two of them watching me intensely.

"When I was five, I asked the Dairy Queen people to teach me," I laughed, remember how I'd bugged all the teenagers working at the local Dairy Queen to teach me how to make my own Blizzards and put together my own ice cream treats. "I bugged them everyday I went there, until they gave in. If I hadn't wanted to be a nuclear scientist, I would have worked at Dairy Queen."

"That's very stupid," Liza giggled as I handed her and Calvin their Blizzards. Liza had a hard time digging the first bite out with her spoon. Calvin stuck his chunk in his mouth and scrunched his face together.

"It's very cold," he muttered. I cut the ice cream cake, picking up a frozen piece and sticking it into my mouth. It was cold, but sweet, and very tasty, even if freezer burnt. "I don't think I want much more."

"Your mouth is probably more sensitive," I shrugged, feeling slightly sorry for Calvin. "You like it, Liza?"

"It's cold," Liza opened her mouth, fanning her tongue to get it warm. I shook my head in amusement, eating a little more ice cream cake. After we'd wasted nearly an hour eating ice cream, I thought maybe we should snoop through the mall for creatures. I doubted there were any, but at least we'd technically looked.

"Let's look through this mall for a little bit, to see if there's anything in here," I motioned for Liza and Calvin to follow me. I walked in and out of designer stores, amused at the looks on Calvin and Liza's faces as they stared at things expensive, eccentric, and artistic from every kind of fashion designer.

"So, this is what people did," Liza mused as we entered a jewelry store. Liza peered into the counter, looking at the beautiful diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires. "They're so sparkly."

"They're precious jewels," I said, jumping behind the counter. I grabbed the pair of keys, opening one of the glass doors. I pulled out a size seven ring with the biggest diamond I could find on it. I gave it to Liza, and she just stared dumbly at it.

"It's so white and colorful all at the same time," Liza picked it up, trying it on. It looked gaudy on her little tan hand. She held it up to Calvin, who squinted at it, transfixed by the shimmer it cast in the light.

"That's a very good diamond," I told Liza. "Some billionaire probably would've bought it for his princess fiancée."

"Came I keep it?" Liza asked stupidly. I nodded realizing no one else would probably ever wear it. It looked shockingly out of place on Liza's casual form, with her belt full of weapons.

"If you two want anything else, we've got nothing better to do," I looked up at Calvin, who was looking at a set of emeralds. "Those are emeralds, and the other ones are rubies, and those are sapphires."

"Like the names of the Overlords," Calvin muttered. I frowned, and Liza looked slightly disheartened at her diamond.

"It's where they took the names, but these gems aren't theirs. It won't curse or hurt us to take them now." Calvin shook his head, still not entirely sure. I looked through them, and took a long, gold chain with a beautiful pearl on the end. I put it in my weapon belt, looking up at Calvin to see if he wanted any.

"Maybe that," he pointed to another case. I pulled out a pendent of a silver daisy with the center being a huge topaz stone. I handed it to him, and he nodded, putting it with his weapons, also.

"Let's go and do something now, before Deyana gets too angry that we failed," Liza sighed, also putting away her god like diamond. We walked out of the mall, across the boardwalk, to the places were the boats docked.

I paused, then, hearing noises coming from down along the wharf, where the fishing boats were. I put a finger over my mouth, heading that way, preparing for a hoard of anything. The wharf was decisively darker than the boardwalk, good for even ferrets. As we approached the noise, I heard clanging and screaming.

"Human screaming," Liza whispered. We headed down towards the noise, speeding up our pace. Liza and I jogged slowly, while Calvin kept up with his huge strides.

Suddenly, in front of us, a single street lamp in the wharf illuminated the battle. Like phantasmal figures from a dream, four humans were fighting off three Myrmidons. A red hair girl struck violently at one of the creatures, freeing a blond hair girl from its net. Then, the creature struck her across the arm, sending her sprawling.

In an instant, the blond threw a knife at its neck, cutting an artery. The creature went to pull the knife out, but the red head stuck a long metal poll into its neck to finish the job. Before the blond girl could blink, however, another creature knocked her off her feet.

Two boys, one blond and the other almost bald, fought against the pair. The blond boy had gashes across his arms, and stumbled around, struggling to stand. With the blow to the blond girl, the blond boy charged the Myrmidon, who promptly picked him up and threw him several yards.

The red head charged the creature that fought the bald boy, and it promptly broadsided her in the head. All the while, we were heading closer, but all the damage the Myrmidons were doing took barely seconds.

As we were almost close enough to fight, the blond girl got up, throwing her metal poll into the other Myrmidon's spine, by its neck. She drove it in with all her effort, but stopped, looking over at her bald friend.

He fought like an ancient warrior, holding himself against the enormous monster with a single poll. The girl ran over, about to strike the creature, when it turned, throwing her into the air, into the lamppost.

"Drum," I looked over at Calvin, who'd stopped moving for a second. Suddenly, his pace doubled. He charged the remaining creature, drew his blade, and cut it straight on the head, cracking its skull.

However, the bald boy suffered injuries from the monster and lay sprawled on the ground, his arm in an odd position. I walked over to the other creatures, making sure they were all dead.

"Help them," Calvin pleaded with me. I wondered at his sudden burst of emotion, but decided I'd ask later. I looked at the blond girl. She was hurt, definitely, maybe even in a comma. I picked her up, and headed towards the red hair girl. I felt her breath. There was none. I felt her pulse. There was none.

"She's dead," I sighed, picking up her body. Deyana would be able to use it some how.

"He's alive," Liza pointed to the blond boy. Calvin had the bald boy, and walked over to Liza, picking up the blond boy.

"He looks very bad," I studied the boy's bleeding arms and bruised body. Up close, I realized he'd sustained several more injuries to his head, back, and legs I hadn't seen before. "Let's go, quickly. They don't look well."

Liza led the way towards the sub. She went in first, and I took the driver's seat, putting the sub into full power. We sped along to the depths, reaching the docking point. I grabbed the two poor girls, bringing them into the lab first.

"What?" Deyana turned to us, expecting creatures. Her face went from expectantly content to grave and very worried. "They're injured. Lay each of them on a table."

"This one is dead," I laid out the red hair girl first. "She was dead when we found her."

"Help me hook up these two," Deyana motioned towards the blondes. "They look like they've sustained the worst injuries. Lay the other boy there, and I'll look at him. Give them all oxygen."

"What can we do?" Calvin asked after he laid the boys down.

"Go to your rooms and rest," Deyana sighed. "It'll be good for you. I'll call you after I figure out their conditions."

(Liza)

I followed Calvin out of the lab. I watched him, walking into his room. I headed towards the shower, my stomach full of ice cream. I took off my weapons, putting them back in storage. Then, I took out my diamond, stuffing it under my pillow. I took a quick shower, eager to talk to Calvin.

I walked towards his room, my hair straggly and wet. I'd dressed in sweat pants and a sweatshirt, and felt warm and comfortable. Now might be the time to ask about his actions. His sudden vigor surprised me because I'd never seen him do anything vigorous yet.

I knocked, walking in when he didn't respond. He sat on the floor, all his armor off, with a blanket over himself. His dark, almost black eyes, looked up at me. "What?"

"What happened? On moment, you're in a fast walk, and the next, you're charging like a mad bull?"

Calvin didn't answer, so I sat down across from him, deciding I had all the time in the world to wait. I crossed my legs, looking up at him. He'd dropped his head to his knees, and I couldn't see his eyes. I sighed, waiting for him to decide to talk.

"I've got time," I made sure he knew I was still there. Calvin gave a deep sigh, and looked up at me.

"I knew the one boy." I looked at his eyes, feeling a deep sadness in them. I nodded slowly, realizing what he was getting at.

"A friend, from the dorms," I filled in the blanks. Calvin paused, staring blankly past my head now. He nodded slowly.

"Drum," he replied, and I remembered the word he'd said just before he went crazy. Drum? It was an odd name, and I definitely had questions. I realized I had no idea what had ever happened to Calvin. I'd never thought of what happened to Calvin or Theresa before now. It suddenly occurred to me that it could be very emotional.

"Who is Drum?" I asked softly. Calvin met my gaze, and I could see him thinking of what to tell me.

"We were bunk mates in a Myrmidon camp." Suddenly, something inside of my head clicked. I remembered my own bunkmates, and a deep ache intensified inside of me. I remembered Josephine, my bunkmate and elder by three months.

'What could we do if we escaped?' Josephine asked me one night. 'We'd just we caught and go to the meat factory early.'

'Elle escaped' I whispered in the thick darkness of Silver Sun's dorms. 'Maybe we can. You can cause expositions in mid air!'

'They're only smoke, Liza. We'd be caught. Go to bed.'

"My bunkmate had her sad birthday, then, I decided I wanted out. That's when I fought Stelo," I replied quietly. Calvin nodded eyes and mind detached from anything real.

"Drum and I were a week and three days apart. He was the younger. He and I always talked about escape, but we didn't know how to do it because the Myrmidon camps are guarded more than the normal dorms. Secretly, we were both afraid."

"Then, one day, he told me he was done. He was escaping. He asked me to go with him. I told him no."

Calvin's words floated across my mind, and suddenly, I felt truly upset. "When did it happen?"

"Three months before our sad birthdays. I expected, every morning, to see him back in the dorms, or be tortured in the work yard. He never came back."

I sighed, looking down at my hands. I knew I'd never see Josephine again. I'd pushed that dead thought of seeing any of my dorm friends from my mind when I'd met Stelo. He'd told me they were dead. They, the part of them I knew and loved, were dead. Their bodies were there, parts of monsters.

"You told me you wanted your friends back, no matter what," Calvin's words pulled my head up. I looked into his dark eyes. "What if this happened? If I were your bunkmate, what would you do?"

I felt a slow, sad smile creep across my lips, and I felt longing fill my soul. "I'd look like this," I knew deep longing and sorrow were etched together in my features. "And I'd talk to you."

(Deyana)

Julio walked up behind me as I finished bandaging the bald boy's broken arm. I set it in a sling, walking over the dead girl. I'd have to take her apart tonight before she started to seriously decay.

"What's the diagnosis?" Julio asked quietly. I walked over to the bald boy.

"He's lost blood, suffered trauma, and broken several parts of the arm, not to mention dislocated his right arm."

I then strolled across to the blond girl. "She's in a comma, although lasting trauma shouldn't be too severe in this case. She's lost blood and broken several ribs and her wrists. She was several fractures in the hand with the broken wrists, too."

"The blond boy will die," I met Julio's chocolate brown eyes. He stared serenely into my eyes with full patience and understanding.

"Go on," he said tranquilly. I cocked my head slightly at him, silently asking him if he was ready to hear it. Julio nodded pointedly.

"He's broken several ribs and spine in several spots. If he lives he'll be a quadriplegic for the rest of his short life. He's also in a comatose state, and there's bleeding in the brain. He's lost huge amounts of blood, and almost died from a cut wrist."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to take apart that girl and keep these three on oxygen. I've put this boy on life support, but it won't last much longer. He has so much time until he's suffered permanent brain damage. Maybe five days or a week, depending."

"What do you want to do?" Julio asked the question again. I knew what he was getting at. What was I going to do with the boy?

"I'd like to make him a new body," I sighed wistfully. "I'll need DNA from the aquarium. I don't know the technology. I need to find that out, too. The other two will revive in merely days, so I'll watch them, especially the girl."

"So, we're off to the aquarium?" Julio walked towards the door.

"Yes, and don't take Theresa. Make it fast. Tell them we're racing the clock."

A/N: for anyone reading this, still, thanks. I loved this story, and finally wrote more. Have fun, make comments, and I'll reply. Thanks, MorganRay.


	14. Kelley

(Note: I changed my point of view to third person, to try something different. If this is difficult to understand, please tell me.)

Kelley 

They locked her up, threw away the key, leaving her to die. She'd drown in her own tears, sitting on the beige blankets, alone with the rain. The torrents spilled down the panes of glass, her only window, and the only one she'd ever had. They'd drown her with her own tears. No ocean would work better.

They took him. Unfocused eyes, glazed with pain too deep for tears, gazed towards the storm for comfort. The skies are crying for me, she sighed, rocking, knees pulled up to her stomach. She rubbed her swollen abdomen, trying to pierce her skin to see her only love. She rubbed her stomach, and knew her child felt her pain.

My lover is gone, she moaned to herself, gently massaging her stomach. The storm enveloped her, and groaning, alone, she whispered, "My lover's gone."

Sweet Greg, come back, her mind moaned. Her eyes saw nothing but her knees, but, yet much more. His face outlined her every waking thought, tormenting her. Sweet Greg, our baby needs you. It can't grow up without a father, she swallowed her tears. The sky is crying for me, she sighed quietly, and with one gentle memory, she stilled her tears.

Raising her head, she no longer saw the rain and empty room, but her lover. The room, still the same, but dark, filled with nothing but their blissful moans. They'd made love, mated, in deep passion, long into the night. She'd grabbed his dark hair, running small, nibble hands through soft curls. The almond skin against her soft, milky body exceeded her wildest dreams. Only special people were allowed to make love in the dorms.

"Come back," she whispered as the lightning cracked the clouds, splitting her visions. No more long nights with Greg, but the cold twilight. "Come back."

The door exploded open, revealing four figures. Two tall, thick and menacing Myrmidons clogged in, taking one of her arms each. She gazed into the black shields that covered their eyes. "Greg, please, Greg, is that you?"

He'll know me, he'll answer, she secretly hoped. She begged, "Greg, please, tell me if you're Greg." They drug her over to a shorter woman and a tall, white drone. The woman looked at her, cold green eyes matching the warm, velvet emerald robes.

"Greg, where's my Greg? Give him to me, let me see him!" She yelled at the woman. "You promised we could raise our child together! I want him back! Give him back!"

She couldn't move, the creatures held her so tightly, so she screamed. She stared at the drone, white, emotionless face with human eyes. "Greg, are you Greg? Do you know my Greg?"

The emerald Overlord led her towards a lab. She stared at her stomach as the Myrmidons drug the girl, clad only in a pink nightgown, down the cold halls. One of the drones pushed open the door to a cold, white room for the Overlord, and the girl was drug in next.

The white creature stripped her clothes, systematically taking off everything. Come back, come back . . . Her silent pleas wouldn't be answered as she was laid naked, and the Overlord looked at her bare stomach.

Her tears fell as shame rushed into her. The beasts drug her naked along the cold stone and linoleum. She bent her head, not wanting to see anything, refusing to believe her humiliation. Only Greg should see me naked, she tilted her head down, unnoticing how hard she wept. She wept so hard she began to cough, hardly believing there were any tears left.

Her head snapped back, and she closed her eyes. She lay on a cold surface, maybe a table. Bright, horrid light glared through her eyelids. Cold, clammy fingers touched her stomach. "No, leave my baby alone!"

Her legs beat against her bonds. She thrashed her head, only to have it held in place by two large, metal talons. She rose up, straining with her back, wanting to flee, escape this horrid place. A restraint bound her down, yet she yelled until a gag lodged itself in her mouth.

She struggled, cried, and moaned until she once again lay naked on her beige sheets. The storm wept harder, yet now she wept with it. Her soft, white fingers gripped her fair, golden locks, once holding so much light.

"They killed him."

She stopped, feeling the hope awaken in her. She stared at her stomach, feeling hope jostle her insides. He's moving, wanting his mommy, she stroked her stomach. Your baby, Greg's sweet baby, her child whispered.

Quietly, she pulled on the pink nightgown they'd taken off her. She felt her child kick again, quietly stirring within her. It's the first time I've felt you, she thought fondly. They didn't kill him; I have his child. With quick movements, she stood at the window.

The wind laughed as the rain pummeled dry land. I'm only two floors up, closer to the ground than ever, and with a window, she knew. She rested her hands on the sill, feeling the little kick. The lightening lit up her swollen eyes and stomach.

Our child she sighed, feeling a sickening peace descend. Sweet Greg, help me.

A/N: Sorry, I wrote this on a whim. Also, it fits in, I promise, with the rest of the story. Just read on. There's at least one more chapter one the way soon, as in a couple days. So smile, be happy. I love Sci-Fi. Thanks, MorganRay.


	15. Aquarium

**The Aquarium:**

Green, covered with algae, the water in the little pond around the aquarium stunk. Nothing could be seen, but things were rotting underneath. These things particularly didn't want to be seen by the three figures that crossed the metal bridge into the large, domed building.

None of them spoke. The atmosphere seemed to suppress anything cheerful or alive. Julio led the way, hastily striding across the bridge. Liza followed, her face covered with sweat, causing her hair to cling to her tanned skin. Calvin's footfalls echoed in the silence, but they, too, seemed only like a hammer muffled by fleece before it smashed into metal.

The words were still over the double doors, brightly colored and decorated with sea life. They pronounced "AQUARIUM" as if it might have once been a place of life and excitement where you'd want to go. Liza shivered and reached out her hand, steadying herself on Julio's shoulder as he stopped to open the doors.

They flung open without a problem. However, the stench that assaulted them inside the huge, main section of the aquarium made Liza swoon. Huge tanks were on one side of the dome, but couldn't been seen, but there were tanks near the entrance. They were also coated in scum, but this place wasn't open to the air.

"Let's make this really fast," Liza whispered hoarsely. Calvin secretly was very glad he couldn't smell the decay. He didn't notice that he lacked a sense of smell before he went to eat. He just couldn't smell a damn thing, be it food or rot.

"If what Deyana said is correct, up those stairs," Julio said as he pointed to a pair of metal stairs near the outside of the dome. They were a decent set of what might have been a wide, winding, metal staircase. Now, they were covered with a film of slim, and had the same disgusting feeling as everything in the building.

Calvin looked around at the tanks as they walked between them. Liza shut her eyes, not wanting to see anything. The tanks were higher than their heads where, even Calvin's, but he thought there were things floating on top. He kept his eyes looking downwards at the film of scum on the floor, not wanting to catch a glimpse of anything dead, either.

Julio began to climb the stairs, and grabbed the railing with his free hand. The other carried a cooler, which Deyana had given him to transport the DNA back to the lab. "They're slick," Julio noted as he slowly made his way upwards, looking down at the steps, hoping not to fall. If he fell, he knew the other two would go down after him. No, risking his team on this relatively easy mission wasn't something he counted on doing.

The door loomed ahead, slightly green, but it looked normal. Calvin and Liza stared out the murky side of the dome, hoping to catch a view of something that wasn't decaying. It was an unpleasant trip, Julio thought, but there weren't going to be any creatures here, hopefully.

Julio turned the knob, and the door opened fluently. There was a soft light inside, gleaming on the floor, and the air had a slight chill to it, completely different than the almost sub tropical feel of the aquarium.

"It's cool in here," Liza sounded relieved. Then, she stepped into the room and looked to her right. "Oh!"

It was a huge terrarium, with the scene of huge, white glaciers painted in the background. Artificial rocks stood in what used to be a massive environment. The water hadn't become too disgusting because of the cooler temperatures, but they could see them.

"What are they?" Calvin asked timidly as he stared at the floating corpses. Some of them were lying on rocks. The rotting process hadn't gotten too far with the ones on the rocks, though, so they were still recognizable as something, even though their skin was bare and looked like parchment.

"Penguins," Julio said as he walked across the viewing area where people stood to read and watch the birds. He headed towards the door at the other end. "They were birds that could swim."

"I don't think I want to go on," Liza whimpered, turning away from the birds. Calvin could feel her shaking right in front of him. He put his hand on her shoulder, as gently as possible. It snapped her out of her fear, making her stagger forward to keep up with Julio.

"The lab is over here," Julio walked to another door, this one black, barely visible. He took out a key and opened the door, and then, entered a code into a panel. The second door slid back, and they were met with the blinding lights of a lab.

"Okay, you two wait while I grab the DNA," Julio said as he closed the door to shut out the horrors of the penguin habitat.

The lab was a sterile place, free of any type of creatures that were decaying. Liza breathed a sigh of relief at the clean air as she slumped against the wall. Calvin stood over her, watching the girl press her head against her knees. There were no appropriate words he could say to make her feel better about this situation. It was beyond his powers of comfort now, he felt. It would sound useless, like the clanging of a gong.

"Let's go," Julio commanded as he shut the cooler chest. He punched in the code the door opened. Liza stood reluctantly, turning away from the corpses as they proceeded through the cold environment.

But worse than the environment of the penguins was what lay outside their door. Julio opened the door, preceding cautiously down the stair. However, when going outside, you naturally looked out over almost the entire domed structure, and could even glance one of the huge tanks that continued around to the other side of the building.

"Holy shit, don't look at that," Julio muttered, making sure he looked only at his feet. It was a disgusting sight, but unfortunately, Liza and Calvin had stepped out of the door to behold the vista too soon.

"It's . . ." Calvin barely got the word out because there really was no other words for what he saw. The huge, massive form of a sea beast lay, floating in slimy rot, flies and other fish that out lived it long finished with their meals. It was bones, covered with slim, and rotting pieces of organ and flesh that hadn't been devoured.

Then, Liza vomited, and Calvin reached out to grab her as she lost her balance. She fell, and the off balancing of weight made Calvin slip, tumbling like a lead rock down the coated staircase, right into Julio. The railings were high enough that they rolled for a while, slipping downwards, trying to grab a handhold for what seemed endlessly. Then, Calvin's hand found a hold, and he stopped.

"I told you," Julio muttered from his place on the floor. Liza groaned, a few steps below where Calvin had stopped. He staggered up, not affected by the grotesque smell, but slightly queasy because of the massive corpse.

"The cooler chest," Julio moaned as he raised himself up. It had flung from his hand in the tumble, landing over by one of the tanks. Calvin found himself closest and went to retrieve it.

"Are you Greg? Are you my lover?"

The voice made Calvin jump, it made his mind freeze and run cold. The sweet feminine voice had come from between two tanks, right by where the chest fell.

"No," he replied hesitantly, looking over as the woman approached him. She wasn't a girl in appearance. The long, wavy strawberry blond hair clung to her fair, rose tinted skin. The soft, gray eyes and full, plush strawberry lips defined her gentle, yet distinct face.

However, the most distinct thing about her, to Calvin, was her swollen stomach. She was heavily pregnant and soaked with water and sweat. Her barely there pink nightgown clung to her stomach and her well formed breasts. Calvin felt a slight shiver, mostly in his mind, realizing he was staring at those.

"Then who are you? No one usually answers me," her voice was light yet naïve. Yes, she was still a girl in some ways, but very much a sexual woman in others.

"Calvin," he replied, transfixed by this demirep that had suddenly shown up in this horrible place.

"You're pregnant," Liza whispered, walking over to the girl. It startled Calvin that she'd get that close, but he realized he was just being foolish by standing there. Julio was up again and briskly walked towards the cooler. He examined it and nodded, finally turning towards the girl.

"And you are?" Julio asked. Liza had taken the girl's hands, then put her arm around the girl's thin shoulders. She'd walked her over to the two other them, standing slightly apart.

"Kelley," she replied quietly, looking between them. "Do you know my Greg?"

"No," Julio answered starkly. "We don't. We need to go. I think we've lingered long enough here."

"She's coming," Liza interjected. Kelley looked over quizzically at the girl, then her glance fell back on Calvin. She'd caught in staring, he realized. He couldn't turn away, though, and maybe she knew he'd been staring at her the entire time.

"Of course. We're going some place safe," Julio spoke more gently to Kelley this time. She smiled and nodded at this comment, but she never took her eyes off Calvin, as if evaluating him.

"We're really under water?" Kelley's sonorous voice asked, for she certainly didn't believe that's where they were. The hallways didn't look like the dorms with their putrid colored linoleum and thick, beige concrete walls. The metallic floor, however, chilled Kelley's feet, as she had no shoes.

"Yes. We can't be touched here," Julio responded as he led them briskly toward the lab. He stopped at the door, debating with himself whether to take Kelley in or not. No, he decided, too much hastle right now. "Deyana!"

"What? Did you run into problems? I thought the place was abandoned?" Deyana replied as she strode away from the four tables, one covered with a white sheet.

"No, I'd like you to meet Kelley. She's pregnant," Julio introduced Deyana quickly. "Kelley, this is Deyana."

"Hello," Kelley replied politely as Deyana surveyed her.

"How many months?" Deyana asked quickly as she kept her eyes fixed on the girl's swollen abdomen.

"About seven," Kelley answered as she too, studied the age in Deyana's face. She'd never seen a woman that old before. Even as old as Julio is, this lady looks older, Kelley thought.

"Have you had problems with the baby?" Deyana asked as she took the cooler chest from Julio.

"No, I haven't," Kelley replied in the same light, sweet voice. Deyana nodded quickly as she again looked over to Julio for an assessment.

"No damage, and we didn't meet a creature, but I advise not taking many missions to that place," Julio summed up their venture. Liza nodded in agreement as she looked down the hallway towards the shower. God, she was mentally and emotionally drained. Not since her incident with Stelo had she felt so emptied.

"Okay, I'm going to put this away and spend the night in the lab. I want the rest of you to sleep. In about ten hours, we're going to get together for a meeting. Julio, you Calvin can go rest. Liza, please make sure Kelley has a shower and clean clothing and put her in with Theresa," Deyana snapped out the orders quickly before spinning on her heal and taking the cooler chest into the lab.

Calvin turned, watching Liza lead Kelley towards the showers. He turned, opening the door to his room. The darkness was like pitch, almost like a substance within itself. He stripped his armor and sat down on his bed, wrapping the three, thick brown wool blankets around himself.

The room wasn't cold, just wrapping something around himself always had made him feel protected. It was a stupid notion, he knew. Blankets couldn't protect him from a damn thing. Still, he lay there, wrapped up in them, slightly uncomfortable in the bed, which was too small.

He needed to sleep, but sleep just wouldn't have him. The darkness, like a void, was almost silent except the hum of the generators. He hated the emptiness because it brought to the front of his thoughts things he tried to ignore: Drum, Liza, the dorms to name a few.

In the dark, his mind wandered, hitting painful patches of memory. Everything seemed to cause pain. It was all stained now with his inability to be completely human. The physical barrier of his damn body got in the way any time he tried to emote. In my heart, Calvin thought bitterly, there's a void darker than this room.

The door moved, as if by a phantom, and a little strip of light cut across the floor. Then, as silently, the door closed, and if she hadn't spoken after the door closed, he thought he'd hallucinated.

"Hello," Kelley's soft voice seemed deafeningly loud. "I couldn't sleep."

You're not the only one, he thought. Still, what was she doing in here? Liza was to have taken care of her. No part of him could rationalize her behavior.

"Do you mind?" She asked politely. Calvin paused, wondering what she meant. Then, he heard her moved in the darkness, step by quiet step, towards his bed. She moved the blanket, and his mind reeled in a sudden shock. Like the unstoppable moment before an explosion, she slid her clean, cool naked body right next to his.

"What?" Calvin asked hoarsely.

"I've been lonely, and it's so quiet here," Kelley whispered. She made herself comfortable, and he realized there really wasn't a choice, so he let her lay. She positioned herself on her back, so her stomach faced upwards. Then, she positioned her head against his side instead of on a pillow.

Calvin took his arm, putting part of it under her neck, hoping to make her maybe a little more comfortable. He couldn't see the slight upturn of her lips in the dark. She turned her head towards Calvin, who knew he'd never sleep, now.

"You've had a lover before, haven't you?" Kelley's question almost made him sit bolt upright. However, he found himself glued into his spot, unable to move or respond.

"No," he choked out after several minutes. She laughed lightly, finding his jaw line. She ran her hand over his face, his neck, just gently examining him, as if there wasn't anything disturbing with what she was finding.

"No one ever answered me," she whispered as she ran her hand across his arms and chest. She continued to explore, very sensually. Calvin was wondering why his body wasn't exploding and on fire. His mind was spinning, wheeling in hot, fantastical circles. It figured that he couldn't feel anything in his body, but now, he was partially glad.

"Why?" he asked.

"I feel safe with you," she muttered. Irrational was the only word that came to Calvin's mind.

"How do you feel?" Kelley whispered as she leaned in closer and stopped her explorations.

"Fine," Calvin barely replied. She laughed her Tinkerbell laugh again as she reposed against his body, in the nook between his arm and chest. Eventually, her breathing leveled out, and Calvin knew she was sleeping. He felt his mind relax finally, drifting off into the sound the generators and her breathing.

There was a mist floating above the water as the gray began to dispelled to a softer, warm pastel color. The gentle sunrays shown pale and clear, causing the ocean water to gleam golden where they touched. However, deep at the bottom of the bay, these rays didn't reach Calvin's window, but Kelley stirred, opening her eyes.

It's so quiet, she mused. She didn't moved, and she couldn't see in the darkness, but she fancied she heard noises. She turned her head in Calvin's direction. I could have sworn he'd loved someone before, Kelley thought.

Then, yes, the door definitely did move. The little Hispanic girl opened it and switched on the light. She turned to talk to Calvin, but her mouth gaped open as Kelley sat up, covers sliding below her breasts.

"What?" Liza asked stupidly as Calvin jolted awake in several quick seconds. He looked between Liza's shocked face and Kelley's calm, sleepy one.

"That's so bright," Kelley said sweetly. Liza's mouth closed, pursing into a thin line. She raised her eyes and bawled up her fists.

"What? What the hell is going on? What did you do?" Liza looked between them, and now, she looked authentically angry and disgusted. Calvin felt caught, trapped between the two women.

"I couldn't sleep," Kelley's smooth voice answered.

"What? So you decided to . . . romp?" Liza let the last word fall as a sickened expression came over her face.

"Well, it's so quiet and lonely," Kelley sighed as if just stating a fact.

"And you come in here, and I can't believe you," Liza turned towards Calvin. He just stared at Liza, suddenly feeling ashamed. He didn't think he'd done anything, but somehow, now, he felt embarrassed.

"I don't see anything wrong," Kelley said sincerely.

"Really?" Liza put her hands on her hips and asked sarcastically. "Well, besides being gross and wrong, it's okay."

"Well, what do you want?" Kelley replied calmly. It didn't seem to her actions were inappropriate, and she frankly didn't know what the girl meant.

"I think you should leave," Liza spat at Kelley. The girl slid out of bed and walked across the room to where she'd left her nightgown. She put in on and gently walked out of the room.

"Why did you let her stay?" Liza lashed at Calvin. He stared at her, not sure how to answer this rage.

"She didn't really leave a choice," Calvin muttered. God, he'd just gotten on Liza's better side.

"Really?" Liza fumed, shut the door, and stormed down the hall.

This is the new chapter, I hope it's liked. I just like this story, it releases so many thoughts out of my mind. If you review, thanks, MorganRay


	16. Drum

**Drum**

The lab was a still, quiet place, in the early hours of the morning before Liza had woken up. Deyana, however, was sitting up in her chair, awake, after sleeping several hours. She'd watched the three of them, and the boy looked like he might be coming around soon.

She turned, puzzling over the next option. She needed to know how to make a synthetic body. She'd thought of the possibility before, but hadn't thought it possible. Now, it was a bit more feasible.

The blond boy breathed slowly as the IV dripped. He would sustain too much brain damage for another mission to be worthwhile, soon. She knew they needed to act, now, and they needed to be fast. Deyana worked the last pieces of metal together, then sat the helmet like item down.

She heard him move. The bald boy had moved slightly. She walked over to him. His brown eyes had opened up, and although still dazed, he was awake. He blinked, looking around without moving his head.

Deyana reached down and removed the oxygen. The boy moved his head, and then stared straight up at her again. "Where am I?"

"In my lab," Deyana replied as she helped him sit up. "You're dislocated and broken your right arm. Other than effects of trauma and blood loss, you're not doing bad."

"Where am I?" The boy asked again as his stocky legs dangled over the edge of the table. He was large for a boy of almost fourteen. Deyana made the assumption of some kind of steroids, maybe like the kind she'd used, buy used at a younger age on this boy.

"You're in an under water lab. You were found, along with your three friends. One is dead, one is in critical condition, and the other should be okay," Deyana said as she pointed to each of the tables. He nodded, a frown coming over his face.

"How did I get here?"

"In a sub, but more specifically, a team brought you here," Deyana replied, admiring the boy's calmness. She hadn't met many people who didn't question motives lately. This boy just wanted some hard core facts.

"So, the overlords don't know about this place?" He asked. Deyana nodded. The boy nodded in return, surveying the lab again. His eyes lingered on the white sheet for several moments before looking again at Deyana.

"Now, who are you?" It was her turn to begin asking him some questions.

"Drum," was all he said in response. "Can I get some food?"

"Yes, give me a second. Wait here and don't move," Deyana replied as she walked out of the room. She knocked on Liza's door, waking the girl up from her sleep. "Liza, I'd like your help again."

"Hmm?" The groggy girl asked, her hair matted and damp around her face. However, she stepped out of bed, already wearing a pair of sweats and a T-shirt.

"Could you get food ready? One of the boys woke up," Deyana explained. Liza perked up at this, waking out into the hallway.

"Which one?" she asked as she yawned.

"Drum," Deyana responded. Liza felt suddenly invigorated, and headed towards the pantry. She returned with food and followed Deyana into the lab.

"Should I wake everyone up?" Liza asked as she handed Drum some bread, water, and a can of fruit.

"Yes, we need to get ready to go anyway," Deyana dismissed Liza, who almost ran out of the room. Drum ate silently, and not until he'd finished, did he speak to Deyana.

"Where are we going?" Drum asked.

"We'll talk about that later with the entire group. I'm going to bath, lay down, and wait for everyone to get ready. The bathroom is down the hall, and I'm sure Liza will show you to it," Deyana told Drum. They both heard the shouting start, but while Drum turned towards the door at the noise, Deyana ignored it.

"What's going on?" Drum asked.

"I don't know," Deyana sighed as she checked the vital signs on each of the two blondes. She frowned slightly, knowing the worst was yet to come, even if they would be able to help the blond boy.

"Will Eric live?" Drum asked Deyana. He was staring at the blond boy. Deyana frowned slightly, and then, turned to face Drum. The boy's face was set, almost unemotional, except for the keen light burning in his eyes.

"I hope to get him another body. Time isn't on his side," Deyana stated frankly. Drum nodded as he slowly climbed down from the table. Deyana walked over and helped him steady himself. Drum walked slowly towards the door, just as Liza came storming back in.

"That slut! Deyana, she was sleeping with him!" Liza shouted in a shrill, high voice. Deyana sighed, taking a guess at who she meant. She'd heart Calvin's low voice in the argument, and hadn't taken it for a good sign.

"I think we have a larger problem," Deyana stated frankly as she looked over at Liza. Liza paused, about to yell again, but she caught sight of Drum. She met Drum's eyes, and she clenched her fist and clamped her jaw. She looked about to explode, but she paused, and finally drew a deep breath.

"Yes, well, maybe," Liza sighed, taking Deyana's place beside Drum. She's a smaller girl, Drum thought as the tiny Hispanic girl held up the left side of his body. He was glad to have her as support, but could only wonder what she was so angry about, but decided not to ask.

"In and hour or so, we're going to meet," Deyana told them as Liza led Drum slowly towards the door. Liza nodded as she led Drum out the door. She took another deep breath, unsure of what to say. She walked farther down the hallway, away from the lab.

"I think I need to tell you something," Liza whispered so softly Drum leaned right up to her mouth to hear her. He nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"We found you," Liza whispered, turning to meet Drum's eyes. He nodded, satisfied to meet someone that knew how he'd gotten here. As he looked at the petit, tanned girl he thought she mustn't be too old, probably barely thirteen.

"We?" There are more people, Drum mused. Yes, to take all four of us, there must have been more. He leaned closer to Liza's mouth so she could talk to him again.

"Julio, myself, and Calvin found you," Liza whispered, barely getting out the last word. It was barely say it or scream it out in anger, Liza decided, so she chose to whisper it like a faint wind into Drum's ear. However, he heard it, and gave a mental start, but physically, he hardly moved.

"Where?" Drum asked one out of a thousand questions on his mind. Alive? How did he find you? How did he escape? What were you doing up on the wharf? How was this place built? There were many more, but Drum decided to let them lay.

"That door," Liza pointed to the door. Drum nodded, as he stared deftly at the metallic door. Liza opened her mouth, and pressed it tightly against Drum's ear. He didn't move, but felt her breath exhale as she spoke to him.

"He's a creature," Liza's hot breath went into his ear. Drum couldn't physically move without falling, but he snapped his head around, locking her eyes. Liza's lips were pursed, but her eyes were deadly serious, any anger she had replaced by a steely stare.

"Deyana removed the controlling device the Overlords transplanted in the brain," Liza gave what she thought a good explanation. Truly, it didn't answer much, yet everything, for Drum. His brain reached a vast, empty area of thought he didn't know. It's as if someone had told him you could defy gravity.

"Okay?" Drum asked Liza, waiting for another answer, maybe another question or order. He just wanted something, anything, from her right now. Everything Drum thought real seemed to have obliterated into smoke. A friend inside a creature?

"Well, just a second," Liza said as she helped Drum hobble over to the door. She opened it, leaned Drum against the door so he could hobble in, and then, she promptly turned and left. The little incident this morning had made her more than a little irritated with Calvin. He can handle this problem alone, Liza decided.

Drum reached out, staggering into the room. He used his left arm to support himself against the metal wall. The lights were on, but he kept his head towards the door, watching his progress along the wall. When he was free of the door, he closed it with his foot, still propped against the wall. He wasn't too shaky, but he didn't feel excessively strong, so he decided to forgo the risk of falling and breaking something else.

Drum turned around. He knew he'd have to look, sooner or later. He was never one to run from his problems. Why start avoiding it now, Drum thought as he surveyed the bare room.

He examined the creature, sitting upright in the bed, and it also seemed to be observing him. No armor, Drum realized instantly. The traditional Myrmidon armor was piled against one wall, a mass of spikes and cold, black metal. He'd never seen a Myrmidon without armor, and he took it for granted that there was a body under that armor.

He could see the chest, arms, and face of the creature. The face had a human shape to it, except the nose and mouth protruded more, making a small muzzle, and there was a lot more hair, well, it might be fur technically, all over the creature. The eyes were dark, and there was almost no distinction between iris and pupil. The ears were more pointed, slightly higher on the head than a human's ears would've been. The chest, arms, and neck were all very muscular, covered with the same raven colored fur, but it was thicker on the chest and arms. He looked at the hands, which had four, large fingers of the same size, but with thick claws at the end. There was also an opposable digit, which had a small nail, and looked like the larger version of a human thumb.

No, this wasn't a normal creature, Drum realized. The girl was right, she had truth in what she said, Drum thought as he slumped down against the wall. His legs were still weak, but he saw the creature watching him move. However, by now, he was starting to explore the possibly, not the seemingly unreachable idea that there was a human in there.

"Underwater," Drum sighed as he looked out the little, round window. Yes, they were really underwater. The impossible story suddenly seemed to be weaving itself into an odd truth. "Didn't believe that until now."

"We're on the sea floor," the creature-humanoid, as Drum started to think of it, spoke in a deep base voice. Drum looked again at the humanoid and away from the window. He'd never heard a Myrmidon speak English, and he'd only heard battle speech a couple times. It was odd, and it occurred to him that the humanoid might actually speak for the first time.

"What were you doing on the wharf?" Drum decided to forgo useless chatter. It was time for some real questions.

"Creatures," was the deep throated answer. Drum nodded, trying to understand that one. Where they out to kill them? Or was it something else odd, like removing things from their brains?

"Supplies, we went for supplies. Tell me about Deyana," Drum locked the humanoid's eyes. He felt an odd jolt when they met. The humanoid looked . . . sad? Yes, Drum realized that with an ice-cold shock to his brain, he was sad.

"She's old," the humanoid replied. Drum felt his heart beat faster, quickening its pace in anticipation, and suddenly, he knew he had to know. "She was down here during the change."

"What did she do to you?" Drum felt his mind race as he asked the question.

"She took something out of my head . . .and she didn't kill me," the humanoid answered, the voice deepening with a slight bitterness. Drum knew, he didn't know how, but he knew exactly what she'd done. He thought maybe she'd made them slaves, under her control, like an overlord, but he realized an immense possibility. What if he remembered?

"I told you I'd escape," Drum teased good-naturedly, testing his hypothesis. The humanoid jumped, which was the first physical movement he'd made. Drum held his breath, waiting for a response.

"You did, lucky bastard," the voice sounded heavy, and he suddenly realized the enormous grief in it. Drum let his breath out, and he tried to bite the upward curve of his lips.

It was ridiculous! The entire idea was crazy! Nothing ever makes sense, Drum sighed. Drum leaned his head back against the wall, feeling a weight off his chest. Was he happy? Yes, he was. Ridiculous! Then, he began to chuckle, unable to control himself. He sat there and went into hysterics at the whole entire twisted mess.

"Huh?" was the simple question from whom he knew now to be his old bunk mate.

"I run away, you stay in the dorms, and we both end up here. Except now, I have a broken arm!" Drum laughed all the more. He knew he should've been emotional or disgusted or shocked, but he found he wasn't. He should've been grieving like Calvin, maybe, but he kept laughing, feeling a huge weight lifted off his chest. Damn, it was the craziest day of his life!

"You got the better deal," Calvin mumbled. Drum almost stopped laughing at that remark, and let his laughter did die out a little.

"You were always so damn depressing," Drum smirked as he got his giggling fit under control. Calvin's thin, gray lips turned up a little bit in the semblance of a grin.

"Still finding ways to get yourself killed," Calvin replied, and Drum didn't feel the weight in his voice any more. Drum chuckled, remembering the days of their dynamic duo.

He was a bit more of a dumb ass and reckless. He never spoke much, didn't like too much beating around the bush, either. Calvin always tried to add the tack into the situations Drum screwed up. He'd pissed off his share of dorm boys, and Calvin would have to patch things up with them before they got steroid rage and decided to fight.

Drum went to say something, but realized, he was . . . happy. The last time he'd even experienced anything close to happiness was when he'd met Ella, Eric, and Cassie. Even then, he'd only had an elated sense of bitter relief. He'd been relieved, actually, but now, he was safely away from the overlords and with friends and other people that wouldn't kill him.

And I've met up with Calvin again, Drum thought. Calvin stood up, then, and pulled the large blanket around his broad shoulders. Drum realized that even without armor, Myrmidons were still very large and strong. Calvin lumbered over and sat down on the other side of Drum.

That's how they remained, both silent, for several minutes, just letting the world drift in and around them. They'd caught themselves in a little eddy, and the rushing, torrential river of life drove it's endless current by them. Even if Calvin didn't register it before, he also suddenly felt a deep sorrow life off his chest. The memory of his past had become tangible, and with it he felt some deep wound healed.

"We have a meeting," Julio said politely as he peeked his head inside the door. He surveyed the two of them before walking in the room. He was also dressed in sweats, and there was a tense air about the older man. He came in and leaned against the wall with the porthole.

Next, without a word, Liza trudged into the room. Calvin knew she didn't want to be here, but she couldn't help staring at the two of them. In a surprise change of events, her anger seemed to simmer away like water evaporating. She sat docilely on the other side of the room, to the surprise of Calvin.

"We haven't got much time," Deyana commanded the room as she strode in, Theresa in her arms. Kelley followed silently behind her. Deyana sat on the bed, and Kelley took a seat beside her after smoothing out her long, navy, cotton nightgown that was definitely not transparent.

"What are we going to do?" Liza piped up.

"I need to make Eric a new body," Deyana lowered her voice, as if debating if her actions were justified.

"How?" Theresa spoke for the first time. It startled Drum, but he didn't move, just made a mental note that this was the first time he'd heard a winger speak, too. It must be like Calvin, Drum realized.

"Tell them," Julio spoke up in the silence Theresa had left. It had lingered, unabated for several minutes.

"I didn't tell you," Deyana sounded mystified for a second. Then, she sighed, realizing Julio must have guessed her game from the beginning. "I need the information the overlords need to make bodies. You get that only at the meat factory."

Liza gasped, and Calvin felt his stomach reel. The two of them met each other's eyes, and for their own reasons, they didn't want to make the venture. Calvin didn't like to think about seeing the dismembered bodies, and that, once upon a time, one of them was his. Liza was simply terrified.

"Youh'll nhever ghet in," Theresa said in her scratchy voice.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. We're going to split up into two groups. If one group goes down, the mission is aborted. I need a stock of who's going on this mission," Deyana asked all of them, trying to meet all but one pair of adverted eyes.

"I'll go," Julio volunteered first.

"Good, because I'm going, too," Deyana spoke in a concrete voice. Calvin and Liza both looked at her, wondering at this change of events. Liza remembered the last time Deyana had gone on a mission with them. She'd liked the experience, though, feeling some how more protected with her there.

"I'll go," Drum spoke up, making everyone in the room start slightly.

"Your arm," Calvin began to try an excuse to keep his friend from danger. Drum shook his head, refusing to hear the blather that was being thrown at him.

"I said I'll go because of Eric. You're going to need all the manpower behind this trip that you've got. I just want someone here to watch Ella in case she wakes up," Drum asked Deyana, as well as the rest of them.

"I'll stay," Kelley gently volunteered herself. Deyana nodded her assent.

"Like there's anyway we wouldn't go," Liza blurted out. "The three of us are in. That makes six, two even groups of three."

"Julio and I will each lead a group," Deyana began talk out loud to herself about the group configurations. "Drum will need protection because of his arm, so I'll put him with Julio . . ."

"And me," Calvin interrupted. Deyana raised her eyes at this request, but nodded her head in assent as she quickly began to organize the mission out loud.

"Alright, Julio, Calvin, and Drum in a group and Liza, Theresa, and me in a group should work. The map," Deyana summoned them out of the room. She led them down the hallway into the lab where she'd spread a huge map on a table she'd cleared. There were two lines drawn, a red and blue one.

"We're going to stay together until we reach this tunnel, and then we'll separate, and my group will go above ground while Julio's group will take the tunnel to the opposite side of the meat factory," Deyana pointed out the routes. "We'll join up at this gate and go in together."

"Question," Drum casually let himself into the conversation. "How do we get in without getting caught?"

"These," Deyana opened a cupboard, pulling at what looked like large, aluminum helmets. Liza snickered slightly at the sight of them, but everyone else fell silent, not liking the idea of trying to sneak any where wearing a ball of aluminum on their head.

"What do they do?" Kelley asked innocently.

"They're a metal alloy that repels the metal I found inside your heads," Deyana explained as she looked over at Theresa and Calvin. "It repels the signals that the other metal in your brains absorbed."

"That's amazing," Julio breathed, honestly awed as he picked up one of the helmets and studied them. "I didn't know you were working on anything like this."

"It's not a bad discovery," Drum added as he put a helmet on his head. He shaped it around his neck, too, just to cover every part of his head possible. "I'm ready."

"Weapons," Julio directed them into their littler armory. Calvin went back and donned all the parts of his armor except his helmet. Julio passed Drum, Liza, and Deyana several knives and guns. He took an amble supply of dynamite for himself and handed some to Deyana. They both shouldered large backpacks, and Deyana gave Theresa a smaller backpack to carry some small food rations.

"Let's go," Deyana ushered the five to the sub. She turned to Kelley, though, walking her back into the lab. "If she wakes up, calm her down, give her some sedatives, too," Deyana instructed Kelley on how to deal with Elle. The girl nodded, and Deyana turned, too preoccupied to give her too much attention right now. The moment had come to break into the meat factory and tap a wealth of secrets.

Hey, MorganRay here. Thanks for the reviews. I apologize for any confusion and mistakes. Feel free to point them out in a review or email.


	17. The Meat Factory

**The Meat Factory**

The sun sparkled brightly overhead, illuminating everything with its smoldering rays. The blue, crystal sky left a terribly clear view of the ground. So, the six of them had trudged through the sewers most of the day, deciding they didn't want to risk being spotted by a winger.

They walked in silence, focusing on the impossible mission ahead of them. Maybe it meant more to Deyana than anyone else. Maybe Drum's silence was because Eric's life was in the balance. Maybe Calvin and Theresa were silent because they didn't want to hear themselves speak.

Julio and Liza brought up the rear, walking side by side down one of the wider tunnels. Maybe Liza's silence was because of the guilt she'd given Calvin because of Kelley. Maybe she was just contemplating life.

Julio, however, was just focusing on the mission ahead. He cleared his mind, deciding idle chatter would distract him. I don't need distractions, he thought. He led the team, and Drum wasn't up to par, and Calvin, well, he'd turned into an emotional wreck quite often.

Julio looked over at Liza as she brushed a strand of brunette hair out of her sweaty face. So young, Julio thought. I was that young, once, but I didn't have to throw my life away, Julio told himself morosely. She's so young, he thought again, but forced himself to dwell on the mission.

"This is where we separate," Deyana whispered from the front. "I want my team to come with me. We're going straight ahead. Julio's team will veer to the right."

Without any more words, the six separated. Liza looked over her shoulder, watching the three other figures wander off into the darkness of the dank sewers. She obediently followed Deyana, who was still carrying Theresa, down the strip of dark tunnel ahead of them.

"We enter from the front, so we'll have to be extra careful," Deyana whispered, handing another set of aluminum foil type helmets to put over their old ones. "I want extra protection."

With this, Deyana opened a hatch on the side of the tunnel. She let white light stream into the dark depths. Liza blinked at the brightness, but waited patiently. "We'll wait a half hour. They'll need time to get to their position."

Indeed, to loop the meat factory underground before going in the opposite side would take longer. Drum felt the walk starting to wear at him, but ignored all pain and fatigue, determined to do this mission. He walked in the front, leading the team through the tunnel. He had the best eyes, he told them, and could easily see anything coming before Calvin spotted it.

"Here," Julio thrust more helmets into Calvin's hands. He pasted them up to Drum, who put another one on his head. With that, they trudged along in silence, wanting to disturb nothing on their way. Fast and furious, Drum reminded himself.

After at least what felt like another hour of sewer walking, they reached the tunnel where they would come out into the light. Dusk settled upon the city, and thick bands of scarlet, orange, and gold reflected against the windows and gave the meat factory a warped look. The many-stripped bands of color seemed distorted in the rays of the setting sun and many of them looked like dried blood.

"Why twilit?" Drum muttered.

"The ferrets aren't out, and the wingers are going in," Julio replied anyway. Calvin stared at the unsettling sight, knowing that he'd been there before. I have to do this, he told himself, trying to steady the shaky resolution inside of himself. For Drum, I have to do this for Drum, he told himself as they approached the fence.

Julio put a finger to his mouth as he drew out a couple sticks of dynamite. He ran and tossed one to the left, and then took the other one and ran right, tossing them both away from the gate they stood in front of. Immediately, all the guards rushed to the disturbed spots, and Julio motioned Calvin to cut open the now unguarded gate.

After Calvin slashed his way through, Julio and Drum shot through the hole. Julio motioned the two of them to follow him deeper into the compound. They made their way like phantoms to the level where they assumed that the actual creature bodies were made.

"We wait here," Julio whispered. Drum nodded, barely catching what he said. White, unfeeling drones passed them, ignoring their presence. Calvin felt his heart hammering, and he revolted at even being in this building. Drum, however, steeled himself to do whatever needed to be done. His mind was used to thinking rationally during chaos.

"Here!" The three guys turned as they spotted Liza bolting towards them. Behind, Deyana crept along, Theresa still on her shoulders. When they converged silently in the middle of the hallway, Liza could hardly believe that they'd made it this far.

"Find the room," Deyana began to look around. She raced after a drone, following it into a room with a huge X on the door. The six shuffled after the drone, moving into the room, not knowing what to expect.

However, as hot, white lights struck their eyes, Deyana knew they'd found the treasure trove. Liza felt her stomach swirl, and she turned and hurled on the cold linoleum. Calvin sank down against the wall, unable to look up at the grisly scene before him.

"Damn it! Grab something!" Deyana hissed, pulling out her gun. She walked over to a very complicated looking machine, and shot the drone working it. Julio walked over to the drones that performed surgeries or prodded masses of flesh with strange instruments and shot them, also.

"Move!" Deyana hissed as she began to download and stash information. Drum, however, hadn't spotted the carcasses of Myrmidons, wingers, ferrets, or trackers in this room. However, there were plenty of humans being dissected and torn apart. However, to one side of the vast, dome shaped room, he spotted strange creatures, which didn't appear to be anything natural, but they weren't the typical beasts he'd seen before.

"Here," Drum walked over to a large vat of gel that held a strange creature who had the body of a huge horse, but an enormous, intimidating scorpion tale. However, a human male torso had been welded somehow onto the horse body. A breathing tube was connected to the creature's mouth and nose and there were coverings over openings like his eyes, ears, and rectal area.

"Whoa," Liza whispered, her face totally horrified as she approached. Behind her, Calvin also trudged forward. "What is it?"

"Let's drain this tank and see," Drum looked for a mechanism to drain the tank, but then, decided it would be quicker to break the glass and drain it that way. However, when the glass broke, the creature began to struggle and scream hoarsely through the breathing mask.

"Deyana!" Drum shouted, jumping back as the scorpion stinger shot at him. Julio arrived first, sticking the beast with a sedative.

"Take it," Deyana rushed over, ordering Calvin to grab the now limp thing. "I've got a good idea what this room is, and we need to go, now! Julio, outside, sedate a drone and take one with us, too."

With that last order, Deyana marched her little army out the door. They scrambled away from the scene. Deyana secured a foil helmet on the creature's head, and then, just as they'd made it out of the room, a horde of Myrmidons and trackers came towards them. They flattened themselves against the wall, letting the beasts past.

Then, they continued their exodus of the meat factory. On the way, Julio quickly sedated a drone, while Deyana capped the lanky, white figure. Then, they bolted for the gates. Again, Julio created another set of diversions by throwing more dynamite. They left through a different gate than either group had entered in, but all they cared about was putting distance between themselves and the horrible meat factory.

Night had descended on the city while they were inside, and now, they were forced to make their way back across the streets above ground. They walked where it was light, and Deyana supplied them with fresh helmets, determined to keep them from being caught.

"We're so close," she whispered as they walked across a brightly illuminated highway. "We did it."

"What did you find?" Julio asked, not really the least bit curious at the moment. Fatigue was taking away his better senses, and the sight of the operating room had stunned even his battle hardened mind.

"They were experimenting on humans to make new creatures," Deyana said, but she paused, as if considering to say more. "That one," she said, pointing to the strange thing that Calvin hauled, "was awake while they remade his body."

Liza stopped, turning aside to collapse and vomit again. Calvin stopped moving, and Theresa let out a mournful shriek. Drum felt his blood run cold, and he looked at the creature, still coated in the gel they'd found it in.

"We stop. I need food," Julio commanded. Deyana nodded solemnly, taking the rations out of Theresa's backpack. The six of them ate in silence, and Julio made sure to sedate the drone and the miserable creature again. Then, they picked themselves up once more, feeling physically weary, but mentally and emotionally stunned and abused.

As daylight tipped the trees, they arrived at the sub and boarded silently. Now, their silence became thick and a powerful presence in itself. All of them were stuck in their own thoughts, unable to pull themselves away from the day's experience. As they docked, Liza, Calvin, Theresa, and Drum retired gratefully to cots, beds, and bars with sleeping bags.

MorganRay, once again, and thanks for all the lovely reviews I've gotten so far. This is hopefully a more exciting chapter, so enjoy and review.


	18. Failure

**Chapter Eighteen: Failure**

Deyana rubbed her temples, trying to exercise the weariness from her bones as she gazed down at the operating tables. The boy was going to die soon if she didn't get to work, but there was so much to be completed. Deyana began to try and process the downloaded information, which was encrypted. "Shit," Deyana whispered as she realized the codes weren't anything she'd ever seen before. There seemed to be no pattern, and Deyana stared back at the full operating tables.

The girl's dead body needed to be dissected, but the dying boy needed to come first. The new creature had been sedated, but Deyana felt she needed to study his body, too, but without killing him. Soon, she figured he'd probably need another sedation, and then, she had to find time to perform surgery on the drone. Deyana groaned as she stared back at the disk, realizing she needed to decode it in record time.

"Need some help?" Julio asked casually as he walked into the lab and scanned the five tables which each held a patient of some sort, dead or alive.

"Look at this code. This is what I got from their computers, but I can't make a single damn piece of data out," Deyana fumed as she went over to the body of the dead girl. "I need to take her apart and salvage some parts, and then, tell me what you've got."

The buzzing of generators enveloped the two awake people at the bottom of the bay, hidden snuggly under the water. Above them, a storm lashed across the surface, churning the bay and blowing some of the old, empty boats around like toys in a bathtub. However, the two oldest humans strove away at their own separate tasks, almost seemingly immune to the fatigue that plagued the other five people sleeping in the underwater lab.

Indeed, sleep had soon enveloped Liza and Theresa, and each had drifted quickly off to dreams in their own beds with Liza's stomach being empty of all food because of her frequent sickness during the day. Kelley had slept in Theresa's room, like instructed, and she was also fairly weary from sitting and watching the unconscious people in the lab all day.

Drum drug a cot into Calvin's room and threw himself across the makeshift bed. The cot, a pillow, and two blankets felt like water to a man wandering in the desert. Calvin had reluctantly taken the bed, but felt it inappropriate to offer it to Drum, who had promptly fallen asleep on the cot the minute he'd put it in the room and laid down on it.

But as the five slept, Julio gazed across the computer and the myriad of data he had to work with. Julio groaned after about two hours, when Deyana had completed her first task. By this time, Julio felt the pressure building in his head behind his eyes. It was hard to focus, and the numbers seemed hopelessly lost to him by this point.

"What do you have?" Deyana inquired as she gave the two creatures another dose of sedatives.

"This is going to take months, maybe years, possibly as long as it took to figure out how to get those metallic orbs from inside the creature's heads," Julio replied solemnly as he gazed at the computer screen.

"There's nothing we can do? No way to figure it out?" Deyana pleaded with Julio as she studied some notes he'd made, trying to figure out a pattern.

"It's in a different language, and their calculations are very complicated, and I've never done anything like them before," Julio responded dishearteningly as he stood up and stretched. Deyana scanned Julio's notes and began to scratch the paper as she frantically tried to form a correlation between some of their data. Julio observed her for a while before going to his bedroom to rest himself.

Deyana's pencil scratching on numerous sheets of paper and the clicking of calculator keys accompanied the buzzing of the lights and generators for the next four hours. The storm pushed its way across the bay, and even though the waves calmed on the surface, below Deyana's mind churned faster than the stormiest seas. She struggled, grappling with the ultimate power of the Overlord's data. She wrestled with their knowledge as priceless time slid along.

"Damn it!" Deyana shouted a curse of frustration. She slammed her fists down as she got up and walked around the lab, kicking over the wastebasket and shouting a curse occasionally. Then, she settled down for another try at the Overlord's data.

At one point, she stopped and sedated the creatures, but they were her second priority now. She checked the boy's vital functions, knowing she had less than half a day to come to a definitive conclusion about what she stole from the Meat Factory, and then figure out how to perform the surgery to make him a body. However, as the storm gave way to a calm sea, Deyana began to sink in the impossibility of her task.

Deyana slumped her head into her own two palms after several hours, when she began to go in circles. "I just need more time," Deyana whispered in a hoarse voice as she rubbed the base of her palms against her eyelids to calm the aching strains behind her eyes. Her mind felt like it had absorbed everything like a sponge, but was enable to wring it out into something useful.

"I need more time," Deyana muttered as she opened her eyes to gaze at the data again. Biting her lip, Deyana diverted into desperate randomness to try and extract anything from the mess she'd discovered. As Deyana continued to scribble on her paper, she bit her bottom lip until it bleed a stream of moist, crimson blood, which dribbled down onto her chin before dotting her papers.

I need more time, Deyana thought desperately as she grappled with the challenge. Deyana continued to scribble desperately until she heard footsteps in the lab. Reluctantly, Deyana turned around to view her guest. In the doorway wearing a T-shirt and sweat pants, stood Julio, who surveyed a scene that hadn't changed much since he left the lab to rest.

"I need more time," Deyana blurted out before Julio could even utter a word. However, the muscular man scrutinized the smaller woman hunched over her desk as he strode across the room towards her. Julio took his hands and rested them on Deyana's shoulders.

"You need to stop. It's over," Julio told her gently, but Deyana shook her head, but didn't shake off Julio's strong, firm hands.

"I need to figure this out, make him a body, and do the surgery," Deyana told Julio frantically as she gazed back down at her calculations. "I have less than half a day, Julio, I need more time."

Then, like the braking of a sturdy dam, Deyana Orbligano began to weep, and her body shook as she became wracked with sobbing. She lay down on her desk and rested her hands upon her arms as she let her tears stain the calculations she'd labored so arduously over. Julio kept his hands firmly fixed onto Deyana's bony shoulders, which he kept his hands steadily resting upon, even though he didn't clamp down and hold her. Deyana's loud sobbing echoed through out the lab, breaking the eerie, concentrated silence that held the room in its grasp for son long. Her tears mingled with her blood, staining her paper and arms, yet Julio remained behind her until her cries subsided, and she was once again silent and left with swollen, red eyes.

"Deyana, go to sleep," Julio told Deyana gently as he pulled her out of the chair and walked her towards the door. In the doorway stood Liza and Calvin while Drum leaned against the doorframe, his eyes solely fixed up Eric. Liza and Calvin parted as Julio ushered a bewildered and completely drained Deyana through the hallway and into her own room, where he laid her in her bed and covered with her blankets.

"I'm sorry," Deyana whispered hoarsely. "I failed."

"It's not the end," Julio murmured in Deyana's ear before he shut the door and left her to what peace she could find on her own. Julio walked to the doorway, where he found the three others still staring in on the scene in the lab. Julio walked past them, towards the table where Eric lay, and Drum followed him like an obedient dog. Julio reached up and put his hand by the oxygen that kept Eric breathing.

"Let me," Drum said as he reached out and brushed aside Julio's hand. "I . . . should . . . he knew me."

Without another word, Drum carefully removed his friend's life supports, and rested his good hand on Eric's upper arm. The four of them watched as Eric's chest failed to rise and fall any longer, yet Drum kept his hand on Eric as the room remained in an entranced state. Then, Julio moved reluctantly over to the body bag where the rest of Cassie's remains were placed. Julio closed the bag and wrapped it in another garbage bag, but before he moved over to Eric and Drum again, he paused and took a deep, soothing breath.

"We have to dispose of their bodies," Julio said solemnly as he gazed at Drum, who hadn't moved, and Liza and Calvin, staring blankly from the doorframe. This seemed to break the trance that was over Drum, who moved and grabbed another bag to put Eric's body inside.

"We'll bury them," Drum replied sternly. Julio gazed as Drum began to wrap up Eric's body, and let him continue on his hurried, almost frantically insane pace that he used to stuff Eric into a body bag. Liza and Calvin stood in the doorway, completely transfixed and seemingly unaware of themselves.

"We'll drop them into the bay, where their remains can't be touched by Overlords or creatures," Julio said understandingly to Drum, which made him stop his scramble with his friend's body. Drum shook his head and turned and stared at Julio, his eyes moist, yet a tear didn't fall from them.

"Okay," Drum muttered after several moments of silent tension between the two men. Then, Julio slide past Liza and Calvin with Cassie's body bag and motioned Drum and Liza to follow him to the sub. Drum took up the rear, carrying Eric's lifeless form over his shoulder.

Silence cloaked the ride to the surface, and Julio led the other three out of the sub and they turned back to face the bay below them. The waters sparkled where the sunlight hit the steely blue surface. Julio heaved his load from his shoulder into the water, where the white bag floated down through the rays into the depths. Drum then hoisted Eric's body into the water with a splash, and the depths of the icy waters of the bay also claimed his body.

"Let's go," Julio said softly as he climbed back into the sub. He waited several minutes before Calvin, Liza, and Drum joined him. The four pairs of eyes remained dry, possibly because there was no physical way to express the loss and feeling of defeat the reached deeper than the bay floor where their lab rested.


End file.
